# Athletic shorts--what to wear under them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794 "2017-08-27T00:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794/1 "2017-08-27T00:52:33Z")
I was recently gifted a couple pairs of of athletic shorts. Unlike the athletic shorts I buy for myself, they did not come with a liner (?)–basically built-in underwear–they’re just short. What does one wear under such shorts? Regular cotton underwear? Do I have to buy a separate athletic liner, eg sports underwear? Or am I supposed to just go commando? ETA, I guess this might qualify as Game Room or IMHO, but we’ll see what the all-knowing mods think. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794/2 "2017-08-27T01:03:05Z")
Assuming you’re male, you want support for anything vigorous and onlookers would probably not want a burlesque show. Look for specific sports underwear as cotton gets abrasive when wet. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794/3 "2017-08-27T01:37:42Z")
Jockstrap. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794/4 "2017-08-27T05:30:32Z")
Synthetic [compression briefs](https://www.amazon.com/adidas-Performance-Climalite-Underwear-Thunder/dp/B00RCU0R7C/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1503811698&sr=1-5&keywords=adidas+Men%27s+Sport+Performance+Climalite+Boxer+Brief+Underwear+%282+Pack%29). I agree with running coach that anything cotton is a no-no. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_from\_CB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/278dde/32.png) [@Alex\_from\_CB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_from_CB)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794/5 "2017-08-28T22:09:35Z")
Boxer briefs. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794/6 "2017-08-28T23:05:59Z")
Thanks for the replies. I’m a little annoyed that I have to spend money to make my gifts work effectively, but here we are. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794/7 "2017-08-28T23:06:08Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Jockstrap. > > Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk Yeah, this is what I do, depending. Not the old fashioned gym jock Look for a running jock in particular. I go with a more compression type boxer brief when it’s not hot. I also ran in Ex Officio briefs for quite a while until they died after a couple years. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794/8 "2017-08-29T00:23:55Z")
If they were padded cycling shorts, nothing. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athletic-shorts-what-to-wear-under-them/794794/9 "2017-08-29T07:18:29Z")
Synthetic compression boxer briefs are what my son’s sports teams wear for running (cross country and track)