What is a Pump Cover? Meaning, Benefits, Controversies
For better or worse, gyms have become hubs not only for fitness but also for trending fashion. Every year, new fitness trends in workouts, exercise machines, and activewear appeals get viral and the fitness community goes gaga over it. One such trend that started in 2022 is the pump cover. Let’s explore what a pump cover or pump cover gym means.
What Is a Pump Cover? Meaning
Pump covers are oversized apparels for gyms. People wear it on top of their regular sportswear. It generates extra sweat and is believed to burn more calories and fat. Pump covers are also known as “pump cover gym”. The idea behind the pump cover is the same as that of a sauna bath. The pump cover i.e., the extra layer of clothing generates more heat when people exercise and makes them sweat. The excess heat opens up the pores and allows fat cells to release toxins into the lymphatic system. In other words, people lose excess water and toxins when they sweat. However, there is still no medical evidence that pump cover gyms actually help people lose weight faster.
Types of Pump Covers
- Pump cover hoodie: The regular hoodie with long sleeves are the most popular pump cover choice. Some use warm winter hoodies to generate more sweat while others wear a daily wear hoodie as a pump cover that they generally use for light cold weather.
- Sweatshirt: long oversized sweatshirts with full sleeves are another trending pump cover for gyms. Avoid using sweatshirts with zippers and tight necks as it may cause discomfort while exercising.
- Pump cover t-shirts: some people who don’t like to get sweaty but still want to be part of this new gym trend generally choose pump cover t-shirts, which is nothing but oversized, long t-shirt with a very loose fitting.
4) Tank top or tanks: Another least popular choice for a pump cover. Fitness influencers and social media lovers generally choose tank tops to be part of TikTok’s pump cover trend. We have covered that part later in the article.
Why Pump Cover Gyms are Criticized?
What’s wrong with wearing oversized clothing in gyms? The reason the pump covers become popular and criticized is the TikTok trend in which people are taking the pump cover off to show off their sweat-covered abs and muscles. While some people think this pump-cover gym trend helps oversized people to hide their curves, others feel that it will encourage body shaming. Not everyone has a perfect body that they want to show off by taking the pump cover off. So, when they see others in the gym wearing the pump cover just to take it off to brag about their perfect abs and toned muscles, people with “not-so-perfect-body” would feel an inferiority complex.
Here are examples of the pump cover TikTok trend.
What is an Anime Pump Cover?
Anime pump covers mean any oversized hoodie, t-shirt, or sweatshirt on which hand-drawn or computer-generated animation characters are printed. The original Anime characters were produced in Japan, but nowadays, any animation art printed on the pump cover is considered to be an Anime pump cover. Popular Anime pump cover characters are
- Levi Ackerman
- L Lawliet
- Killua Zoldyck (Hunter X Hunter)
- Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)
- Gojo Satoru (Jujutsu Kaisen)
You can either customize it or buy Anime pump covers from online stores like zumiez.com, imperialstrengthco.com, and redbubble.com.
Final Words on the Pump Covers Gym
Not all fitness trends encourage body shaming. In fact, now all the major brands have started hiring models of all sizes and shapes to reflect diversity and inclusion. Victoria’s Secret and Gymshark are the best examples of it. As far as body image is concerned, it depends on an individual how they take any new fitness trends. If you want to use pump covers to amplify your workouts by generating more heat and sweat, simply go for them. But if you’re having body image issues and want to be part of TikTok’s pump cover gym movement, we would advise you to stay away from it.
What is Yottled? Yottled is a free booking, scheduling, and payment integration software for fitness clubs, gyms, individual coaches, personal trainers, and sports facilities.
