Spring is officially here! Are you as excited as I am? I loathe the dark Ohio winters, so if you ask me, spring can never come soon enough! I love waking up to the sun shining through my windows, leaving work when there are still a few hours of daylight left to enjoy, tending to my vegetable garden, riding my scooter, planning the next 5K I want to run, and of course, rotating my wardrobe to put away those stuffy winter clothes and bring my warm-weather clothes front and center.

Speaking of clothes, I'm a bit of a clothing junkie—but not in the way you might think. Really, I don't have a lot of clothes and I rarely go shopping. I look for bargains and rarely buy anything that's not on sale. But when it comes to workout clothes…that's another story! I recently realized that about half of my wardrobe is exercise clothing—shorts, performance wear, sports bras, sweat-wicking tops and capri pants—you name it, I probably have it (in at least 3 colors, thank you). I have more pairs of workout pants than I do regular pants! I have more sports bras than I do regular ones! That's just the beginning.

I realized that I had a problem when I was shopping for a new pair of jeans recently. I found a perfect pair (which is so rare, am I right?). It fit well and made me feel great. And even though I'd wear these jeans multiple times per week for months on end, I couldn't justify their $60 price tag. However, just a week prior, I had spent $50 (yes, $50!) on a new pair of Nike workout pants—something I'll wear for an hour once a week. Am I nuts? (Don't answer that.)

So I started to wonder: Are you like me? Do new, cute, or cool workout clothes motivate you to exercise?

Workout clothes DO motivate me. I am much more excited to go for a run when I'm sporting my great-fitting, sweat-wicking exercise pants that make me feel comfortable and confident than if I threw on any old thing. You will never see me working out in a random oversized T-shirt or anything made of cotton (it retains moisture and keeps you soggy). I can't really explain it—I mean, I'm definitely not that into my appearance. For me, buying and wearing nice workout clothes is not about what others think when they see me exercising. It's about how the clothes make me feel about myself. I like to have the right gear for the job so to speak. Just as a new fitness gadget, like a pedometer, heart rate monitor, or even a bodybugg, can motivate other people to get moving, that's what workout clothes do for me. They don't have to be expensive or fancy—they just have to have the right fit, fabric, and style. If that makes me a clothing snob, so be it! (At least it helps motivate me to exercise 5-6 days a week and feel good while doing it.)

How about you: Do you care what clothes you wear when working out? Do new workout clothes motivate you, or do you think these "outfits" are silly?