On November 10th, former Nike Vice President Stefan Olander announced the launch of the weighted sportswear brand Omorpho.

Omorpho puts small weighted beads evenly on tights, tank tops, crop tops and shorts for full exercise.

The company aims to break into the already crowded sportswear market. Although major players such as Lululemon and Nike dominate, newcomers are making waves. For example, Target's All in Motion brand has reached $1 billion in sales within a year. Global industry analysts estimate that by 2026, the value of the industry will reach US$221 billion.

I tried Omorpho's new product to see how it fits into the sportswear market. The following is the feeling of wearing a weighted sportswear designed by a former Nike executive:

Omorpho sent me two items: leggings and a tank top, each weighing about 1 pound. The company recommends using water tanks for core sports exercises, such as indoor cycling and yoga, and leggings for running and hiking.

According to Omorpho's website, weighted clothing can help athletes move as usual while increasing strength. These items can also help overall health by burning more calories during running, Pilates, hiking, etc.

The company also has other products, including motorcycle shorts, short tops and long-sleeved shirts. Their heaviest item is a vest, which weighs 5 pounds for women and 10 pounds for men.

Omorpho's clothes are surprisingly difficult to wear, and I thought the size I ordered was too small. But when I put them on and walked around, I realized that this fabric has elasticity and rubbery texture-and unexpectedly light and breathable, suitable for me to wear two pounds of clothes.

I started exercising, using foam rollers to stretch and massage my muscles. I can move easily in tight pants, which shocked me. There is no fabric shrinkage on my knees or abdomen, and I get good compression with foam rollers. I remember feeling as if I was not wearing any clothes, let alone weighted clothes.

After warming up, I moved to a treadmill to run. So far, I can't feel the weight of the fabric, but I started to feel resistance and noticed that I was jogging slightly slower than before.

The clothes add an interesting challenge: I have to work a little bit to run at the usual speed, but I don't feel that clothes exhaust me too quickly.

After running, I started using lightweight high-intensity interval training (HIIT) cycles. I have been doing heavy-weight strength training recently, but Omorpho recommends using weight-bearing clothing for running, yoga, Pilates, or other slow, low-repetition weightlifting based on aerobic exercise.

When I walked around in the gym, I did get some stares. The weighted beads on Omorpho products blend very well, but the beads on my light-colored vest are more eye-catching than the beads on the leggings.

At this point, I started to realize that my tank top might be too small in size, or I didn't adapt to it like tights, because the fabric started to curl around my waist.

I can hardly feel the difference in HIIT exercises wearing weight-bearing clothes. Jumping jacks, planking, rowing, squatting, sitting on walls and other movements feel natural and are completely unobstructed by weight-bearing clothes.

After exercising, I found myself sweating more than usual. In general, I found the clothes to be comfortable and lightweight, especially the tights.

I feel the most resistance when jogging, so I would recommend these clothes to runners looking for a challenge. But I don’t know whether the weight on the clothes is enough to affect other actions.

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