I went paintballing for the first time last night. I told myself that it could probably count for a workout, what with the running around on-and-off for three hours.

It was incredibly fun. I found that bringing the right clothes was really helpful, though. I would recommend for a first-timer who will be renting the marker (gun) and mask to bring the following:

1. Hoodie. You can put the hood on under your mask strap to protect the top and back of your head. And it’s thick enough to make direct hits not too painful.  Also, with the hood up, the gunshots will be a bit muffled (good in my view).
2. Base layer. I wore a long-sleeve synthetic shirt under the hoodie. Absorbs your sweat and adds another layer of padding and heat.
3. Sneakers — you don’t want to mess up your nice shoes and you need to remain mobile.
4. Comfortable pants. (I wore jeans that are a bit too big for me now.)
5. If you’re a guy, I would invest in a cup.
6. Gloves. Getting hit in the hand hurts.

Of course, we played indoors, but I think this setup would have worked well for an outdoor game as well. You might have to add another sweater layer between the base layer and the hoodie.

Also, the games were only five minutes long and we rotated against other teams, so there wasn’t really too much opportunity for me to get my heart rate up. I probably would have been cold outside, and I’m not quite sure it counted as exercise.