If you’ve spent any time at the gym or around runners at a marathon or 5k, you’ve probably seen a few athletes in tight-fitting clothing or compression gear. You’ve also probably even seen a few runners around your neighborhood sporting this specific look and have wondered if compression gear works. The answer is yes. If you’re wondering if it's appropriate to wear compression gear for your style of fitness, the answer is more than likely yes as well due to the benefits they provide.
Whether you’re wearing a short sleeve compression shirt or even a compression shirt with long sleeves, you’ll find that all types of compression gear will have a positive effect on your mental and physical being during and after your fitness program. It's essential to read about their full effectiveness to make sure that compression gear is right for you.
The Basics
To fully understand how compression gear works and its effectiveness, it's essential to know how blood flows through your body. Your heart pumps blood that is enriched with oxygen throughout your body and working muscles. The cells then use this oxygen and other nutrients, deoxygenate the blood along with lactic acid and various waste products enter the veins for a return trip to the heart. Once back at the heart is it then oxygenated again by the lungs and the process starts over. It’s a pretty ingenious process as the body is a fantastic mechanism.
Compression Gear Effectiveness
Now, as you work out, your body builds up lactic acid in the blood along with muscular damage that leads to soreness, swelling, and possible injuries. This is where the effectiveness of compression gear comes into play. The clothing adds pressure to your body. This pressure holds muscles in the correct place and adds extra support for your joints. It also increases your blood flow.
An increase in blood flow brings more oxygen to your muscles, which in turn flushes more lactic acid and other waste from your body faster. This will speed up your recovery time along with reducing and even possibly preventing soreness. Soreness can slow you down along with injuries like strains and sprains. By supporting your muscles and joints, compression clothing has proven to reduce and prevent minor injuries so you can work out harder and not be set back by minor injuries. Compression clothing like a short sleeve compression shirt or even pants can help you with your form to add awareness to your body’s movement. This means you’ll be more aware of whether you’re using proper form as the compression shirt or pants support your muscles in the right places.
If you’re wondering if compression gear is effective, then you can wonder no more. With faster recovery time and reduced soreness, you can work out in your new compression gear and feel the effectiveness itself. Athletes, both professional and amateur, wear them for a reason, and you can easily take advantage of a sports trend that does what it says they do.
