Sun Protection for Athletes

Sun protection for athletes is a must. Much like eating, exercising and resting, sun protection is necessary to stay healthy and perform your best. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or professional athlete, you need the safety and assurance of performance sun protection clothing. Here are the top reasons sun protection is critical for athletes, and why sun protection athletic wear is your best option:

Athletes Spend a Lot of Time in the Sun

Whether it’s competing outdoors, training outside or simply enjoying the sun during breaks from athletics, it’s likely that athletes will spend a significant amount of time outdoors. Therefore, athletes have significant sun protection needs. Sun protection athletic wear is a great option because it doesn’t need to be reapplied throughout the day (unlike sunscreen, which only lasts 1-2 hours). Plus, sun protection apparel leads to cost savings in the long run compared to frequent sunscreen purchases.

Athletes Need Sun Protection That Works As Hard As They Do 

Beyond simply spending a lot of time in the sun, athletes often push their bodies and work hard during that outdoor time. A hard workout demands hard working sun protection, and nothing is more effective than UPF 50+ sun protection apparel. A UPF 50+ rating means that a fabric is certified to block more than 98% of the sun’s UV rays. This is the highest possible certified rating for fabrics, and many of Rayward Apparel’s products meet this strict UV protection rating. For example, our lightweight Shoreline sun shirts are UPF 50+. In addition to offering maximum UV protection, quality sun protection apparel is designed to withstand tough workouts and training. Performance UPF shirts should stretch where you need range of motion, breathe and wick moisture to keep you comfortable, and resist abrasion to withstand workout after workout.

Athletes Must Protect Their Body

For an athlete, your body is your most important piece of equipment. As such, it needs to be in the best shape possible. Unprotected sun exposure can lead to overheating, sunburn and blistering. Plus, UV radiation is directly responsible for certain types of skin cancer. Athletes should not let something as simple as proper sun protection get in the way of maintaining their health. Sun protection athletic wear makes it easier than ever to perform your best while still protecting your body. Remember, sunburn is at best a distraction, and at worst a serious injury requiring medical attention. Speaking of distractions...

Athletes Should Avoid Distractions

Excelling in any sport or competition requires avoiding distractions and shutting out anything that could hinder your performance. While training and competing, getting a sunburn should be the last thing on the mind of an athlete. However, without preparation and sun protective athletic wear, ineffective sun safety could be an athlete’s downfall. Most athletics last longer than 15 minutes, which is all it takes to get a sunburn. If an athlete is worried about how long they’ve been in the sun, or how long it’s been since they’ve applied sunscreen, then they aren’t focusing on what needs their attention. Sun protection clothing can nearly eliminate, and at the very least significantly reduce, an athlete’s dependence on sunscreen (and all of its distracting inconveniences).

Athletes Need to Perform Their Best

The common thread between all of these points is that athletes need to perform their best. Anything that gets in the way of this is a problem. This certainly includes the threat of sunburn and skin cancer. However, even sunscreen could stand between an athlete and their peak performance. For example, sunscreens can leave a greasy residue that could weaken your grip. Plus, as mentioned above, sunscreen needs to be reapplied. This interruption could disrupt a workout routine, or even change the momentum in an athletic competition.

For an athlete to perform their best, sun protection must be intentional and consistent. Fortunately, Rayward Apparel makes this easy with performance sun protection athletic wear designed for a range of activities. Shop UPF sun protection athletic clothing today!