For anyone who exercises regularly or plays sports either professionally or at an amateur level, muscle fatigue and soreness is an inevitable by-product of the activity. Indeed, a really intense workout can cause the buildup of so much lactic acid that recovery can be painful and may even take weeks before peak physical performance occurs. Of course, recovery times differ from person to person; however, what if there was a way to decrease muscle soreness and fatigue and perhaps even decrease physical recovery times?
The Value of Compression Clothing
Developed in recent years, compression sports clothing represents a new way of thinking about physical recovery and peak performance. Companies such as Skins offer a wide range of compression clothing and it is becoming popular with people from all walks of life and both amateur and professional athletes. But what is compression clothing and what does it do?
Compression clothing has been developed specifically to aid sportspeople and athletes at any level in terms of their performance and their recovery. Through the increased compression of certain joints and muscles, the clothing offers the following benefits:
Temperature: All athletes and sportspeople will tell you that it is important to maintain a certain temperature across muscle groups and joints when performing so that they do not cool down. Compression sporting wear is designed so that it delivers increased temperature regulation across vital areas of the body. This helps to prevent injuries and ensure peak physical performance.
Fatigue: Every person at any level will tell you that muscle fatigue is an inevitable part of sports. As the muscles work hard, lactic acid builds up across the muscle fibres. This lactic acid causes the onset of fatigue. Compression sporting wear helps in this regard because it delivers increased compression to areas of the body where there is peak blood flow during movement. As a gentle and consistent pressure is placed upon the circulatory system by the compression clothing, more regular blood flow is maintained during physical movement. This ensures that oxygen reaches muscles when they require it most.
Recovery: Due to the fact that compression clothing increases blood flow and helps to prevent muscle fatigue, recovery times tend to be faster. There is less muscle soreness and joint pain so athletes and other sportspeople find that they can get back into peak physical form more quickly due to decreased physical recovery times. For professional athletes, this has obvious implications in terms of being able to participate at the top level more often and with less physical soreness and fatigue.
Training: The immediate gain for any athlete is that training can be done harder and for longer. This means getting the most out of any exercise and pushing one’s body to where it needs to go.
Performing at Your Peak