Why do you need compression clothing? Why do you need compression sportswear?

Get rid of dangerous papillomas FOREVER

A simple and proven way to get rid of papillomas and warts without dangerous consequences. Find out how >>

Why is it needed? compression clothing for Sport?

If you are actively involved in sports, then your blood vessels need additional support. Otherwise, the risks of various diseases may increase. Therefore, to help your blood vessels, you need to use sports compression garments. For many years, this type of clothing has been used to improve the performance characteristics of the athlete and increase his level of comfort. Today we will tell you why an athlete needs compression clothing.

Compression clothing comes in socks, pants, leg warmers, T-shirts and other options. First you need to understand how compression garments work. The principle of operation is to compress the veins with to varying degrees and vasoconstriction. As a result, blood flow accelerates, the work of the circulatory system is facilitated, muscles are enriched with oxygen and nutrients, and breakdown products are removed from the body.

The main function of sports compression clothing is to compress the limbs and help blood vessels function correctly and withstand heavy loads.

In medicine, there are 4 classes of compression. However, you can only buy and select compression sportswear on your own with compression class 1; otherwise, you need to consult a specialist. Compression class 1 is preventive. It should be used if you find yourself with enlarged saphenous veins or spider veins.

The effect of compression sports clothing.

Professional and amateur athletes often use compression sportswear during training and preparation for competitions. What is it for?

• Prevention of thrombosis and additional load of cardio-vascular system, since a person is under excessive load, the vessels lose their shape, and the functioning of the valves is disrupted;
• Injury is reduced, as vibrations are reduced and additional support is provided to the muscles;
• The sensation of the body in space increases;
• Training becomes comfortable, since sports compression clothing has good thermoregulation and elasticity;
• The outflow of venous blood is stimulated;
• Blood circulation improves;
• The process of tissue restoration is accelerated;
• Efficiency and endurance increase;
• Swelling of the legs decreases;
• Prevents the appearance of calluses;
• Coordination improves and muscle reaction time is reduced due to increased proprioceptive sensitivity.

In addition, scientists in Auckland from Macy University showed that only 14% of athletes who ran 10 km in compression socks experienced delayed muscle pain. By comparison, 93% of athletes who ran 10K without compression socks experienced shin pain the next day.

When to wear compression sportswear?

• During prolonged exercise;
• If you are predisposed to varicose veins;
• For recovery after competitions or heavy training.

However, it is not recommended to wear compression sportswear all the time. Because there may be an overdose effect. Remember that with constant pressure, blood vessels may no longer maintain their natural tone. And this will cause the same problems as with insufficient compression.

We also draw your attention to the fact that sportswear with a compression effect, it should fit tightly and get dressed with difficulty, but at the same time, without restricting movement.

Contraindications for sports compression clothing:

• Atherosclerosis;
• Orthoarteritis;
• Endoarteritis;
• Thromboangiitis obliterans.

If you still don’t know why compression clothing is needed for sports, then pay attention to its main advantages: additional muscle support, accelerated recovery and reduced injuries. All these factors are very important for both a professional athlete and an amateur.

If you have to stand often and for long periods of time, if you lift weights or run a lot in preparation for competitions, then the load goes to your blood vessels. If you are predisposed to edema or varicose veins, you can help your blood vessels with sports compression garments, and at the same time reduce health risks.

How compression clothing works

Compression underwear (socks, leggings, pants, overalls and other options) is so called from the word “compression” - pressure, compression. The essence of the work of any “compression”: compression with varying degrees (depending on the location of the body part) of your limbs along with the vessels located in them - to facilitate the functioning of the circulatory system.

Rising upward from the lower extremities, the blood, overcoming the force of gravity, passes through a series of valves. In normal mode, they function completely calmly, passing a portion of blood upward with each beat of the heart and not allowing it to accumulate below, inflating the veins or forming edema or even thrombosis.

However, under the influence of excessive load (for example, when a person is constantly in a standing position) or, for example, with significant running loads, the vessels may lose their shape and the operation of these valves may be impaired. Thrombosis may appear and develop, and the cardiovascular system is additionally loaded.

Actually, the function of compression garments is to compress your limbs under a certain pressure, either to help damaged blood vessels function correctly, or simply to help them withstand heavy loads without consequences for your health. Spending the whole day on your feet or running a marathon is easier and more enjoyable in compression socks.

In properly made compression garments, for example, sports socks, the load distribution is calculated. The lower, the stronger the compression; closer to the knee the pressure decreases. This is because it takes more force to lift blood up from the lower part of your limb.

The “correctness” of compression garments is confirmed by various standards. In Europe there is a standard RAL-GZ 387. Its logo can be found on the packaging and on the label sewn into compression garments of some brands, mainly specializing in medical compression garments.

Medical "compression"

Doctors write, and we retell it to you: there are 4 classes of compression of medical underwear, but without a doctor you can only look at the first. First class underwear can be bought at a pharmacy - it is for prevention. Doctors recommend it to anyone who has found spider veins on their legs, has found enlarged saphenous veins, or is irritated by swelling at the end of the day. The remaining classes of underwear will still not be sold to you without a doctor’s prescription, and we would never risk giving advice without the advice of specialists.

Nevertheless, the point of this chapter is to talk about contraindications: do not wear compression garments if you have atherosclerosis, thromboangiitis obliterans, endoarteritis, or orthoarteritis.

Does compression make it faster?

All the sources we found sing in unison about compression clothing for sports - it “supports muscles by storing and returning energy when muscles stretch and contract during physical activity” and “allows you to feel better in space.”

A study from Newcastle University found that lower-torso compression garments increased blood flow and decreased heart rate during high-intensity endurance running. This, in theory, should confirm the theory that compression stockings or leggings should improve performance. However, this same study did not prove that compression clothing actually makes runners faster.

So scientists have not yet confirmed the dependence of the result on compression garments. Perhaps this is due to the insignificance of the advantage, lost in statistical error. The debate on increasing running speed using compression has not stopped for decades.

It has been scientifically proven that compression training lowers an athlete's average heart rate. A test was conducted in which the frequency of contractions was measured during physical activity. The heart rates of athletes wearing compression garments were on average 2-3 beats per minute lower than those of participants wearing regular clothing.

What does “compression” do: pain reduction, rapid recovery, prevention of vascular diseases

But in terms of health and comfort, there are positive results. Scientists from Macy University in Auckland found that 24 hours after a high-intensity 10km run (using compression socks), there was a reduction in long-term muscle soreness. 93% of athletes who ran without compression socks experienced calf pain the day after the race, while only 14% of subjects who ran with compression socks also experienced such pain.

Even the simplest compression socks from leading brands are not cheap.

Scientists at the University of Exeter assessed the effects of compression clothing on muscle recovery. Tested by repeating three strength exercises 1, 2, 3, and 4 days after the painful activity. Wearing compression garments for 24 hours after exercise was found to improve performance in all three endurance tests and reduce subjects' soreness.

If we add here medical indications for the prevention of long-term negative effects from heavy loads, then the benefits of compression garments are obvious. However, you should clearly understand how much you need it and wear it thoughtfully.

When to wear sports compression garments

For example, during strong, prolonged loads. An additional risk factor is a predisposition to varicose veins - spider veins, enlarged veins, edema.

For example, to prepare for a triathlon, I was offered to use sports socks from the Australian company 2XU (as I was told, the “Mercedes” in the world of sports compression, and even triathletes compete in this brand). I wear it for all heavy cycling and running workouts, especially as the load increases. Actually, with enlarged veins on my legs, I definitely need such underwear for high loads.

A separate topic is recovery; top manufacturers have lines of recovery clothing after hard training or competitions. And, based on the results scientific research, we can recommend compression for these purposes.

Top brands have lines of compression garments “for recovery.”

But you should not constantly wear “compression” precisely because of the excessive effect of their main positive effect. An “overdose” of compression can be as harmful as too little: your blood vessels may stop maintaining their natural tone, which can also lead to the same problems that such underwear cures. Therefore (if you have no other indications for use) you should not wear compression garments when the load is familiar to you.

Study carefully size chart compression clothing and follow the manufacturer's recommendations exactly. The compression garment should fit tightly (like a second skin), put on with difficulty, but not restrict movement.

Use compression garments wisely and to the benefit of your health and results. And may the force be with you.

Now I’ll try to tackle an even more controversial question. Many people love compression clothing, many consider it pure marketing. Many people use it, many consider it too expensive. Many people rely on it for better recovery, many use it in competitions. There are a lot of contradictions, so I will try to minimize subjectivity and analyze the available materials on the topic. Of which there really are not many.

These guys have already approved compression in a circle and do not understand our doubts.

Unfortunately, information on the topic is on average of very low quality. The gold standard for checking various information with supporting links is Wikipedia, but it will simply stun anyone interested in the topic of compression. Let's open the site, read it, open our eyes even wider and close them. The material was written without a single supporting reference and with such harsh and ambitious statements that you involuntarily begin to feel sad. Are there any normal studies on the topic?
Judge for yourself.

Maximizes strength? Enhances movement? Ugh. What’s interesting is that absolutely the same thing is said about sportswear. At the same time, compression clothing costs quite a bit, and if you also noticed that they periodically lie on the Internet, this information is unlikely to be enough for us to buy clothes.

Research.
There are two pretty famous test compression clothing, which were carried out in 2003 and 2007.

The first test by Doan, Newton and a crowd of others in 2003 tested the performance of 20 athletes in the 60-meter sprint and high jump. At the same time, they looked at the athletes’ movements, pulse and body temperature. The test involved 10 men and 10 women, comparing loose and compression clothing during exercise.
The test results showed no improvement in sprint speed. However, some differences were noticeable. The authors claim that compression landings reduced muscle vibration and concluded that it was beneficial in minimizing muscle injuries. The athletes’ movements also changed slightly, which is easily explained by the psychological effects of compression clothing. And in the compression suit, the temperature of the skin increased faster, which is also generally obvious. In principle, that’s all that’s interesting.

The second test by Duffield and Portus in 2007 was more technologically advanced. Ten male athletes were tested and tried three different brands of compression clothing. Each athlete completed a 30-minute training session at 4 different options equipment: compression clothing of 3 brands and loose clothing. The sport was cricket, 20-meter sprints, throwing accuracy tests were carried out, and the researchers had a blast using additional equipment. Before and after the exercise, blood was taken for lactate, pH and pressure were monitored, and tests were performed 24 hours after these workouts. What is important is that in this case the compression was tested not only during exercise, but also during rest after it.
The results repeated the previous ones, but many new things emerged. There was no difference in sprints and total distance during training - they ran the same amount and at the same speed. The accuracy of the throws has not changed. And, what’s funny, there was no difference in the effect of compression socks of different brands both during training and during rest. Checkmate premium brands.
What did they find? The skin temperature in the compression suit again increased faster than in loose clothing. Obviously. But what's really important is that the researchers noticed a drop in creatine kinase levels during a 24-hour period of rest in compression clothing relative to loose clothing. This could mean either less damage to muscle cells or more efficient recovery. It's not very clear how this was determined, but the authors also reported less muscle pain. Bottom line - they recommended compression clothing to reduce muscle damage during exercise and for better recovery, but they do not recommend it to improve the athletic performance in the competition.

Citizen Stickford from medical center in Dallas (compression clothing does not work on results, results increased in two athletes out of 16 who believed in the effectiveness of compression clothing), recovery was not tested. And in 2013, more recently, Born, Spirlich and others conducted a much larger study in which they concluded that compression clothing may provide small improvements in both sprint and long-distance performance, and also reduce muscle damage and slightly speeds up recovery.

It was all practice. Let's now look at how this difference may appear.

It looks good, as you can see. There are also compression garments in the photos.

Theory.
Oddly enough, but there is just very, very little of it. Almost everyone talks about improving blood flow, articles in popular magazines are rampantly citing the above tests, but why... there is a problem here.
They decided to cover this issue most accurately on the website runlab.ru, however, even there, the entire explanation in the middle of a huge article was reduced to 1 picture and 1 paragraph of text. Here they are:

“Human veins include special valves that help move blood to the heart. When the health of the veins is compromised, and this includes ordinary leg fatigue and varicose veins - regardless of the severity of the situation, the same principle remains - the vein expands. When it expands, the valves form a gap that interferes with blood flow and disperses it. The principle of operation of vein valves is similar to the principle of pressure in a hose with water, because everyone knows that when the tip of the hose is pressed with a finger, the pressure of the water gushing out of it is stronger. Likewise, in order to speed up blood flow, it is necessary to “tighten” the valve of the vein, that is, to narrow it. Compression clothing puts pressure on the leg and compresses the vein.”

We have doctors on our website who, I am sure, will be able to provide counterarguments. If so, please speak up.

From all of the above, the following pros and cons emerge:

Pros:
maintaining constant muscle temperature
reduction of trauma and pain
speeding up the recovery process

Popular pros in online articles that partially contradict test results:
reduced fatigue
increasing body endurance
increasing muscle efficiency
improved coordination

Minuses:
increase in muscle temperature (in competitions in hot weather)
clothing care (usually very delicate washing)
price

Possible disadvantages (Ranlab introduces several more disadvantages, but does not confirm them with strict conclusions):
Not for people with poor circulation, diabetics, smokers, hypersensitive skin or open wounds. In general, if you have a complete set (we definitely have those) - just get up and leave the class. Well, you understand.

Reviews.
They are exactly the opposite. When this article was announced, several people reported that they use compression and it helps them. However, there are actually quite a few reviews. Let's bring some close to our cycling topic. As you understand, I can’t vouch for objectivity, but I’m collecting it for you to have a broad range of opinions.

Mikhail Sumar: “I’ve been using it for five years now, I have a different brand but also with brakes on top, they provide excellent relief after a race or a hard workout, I also wear it on flights and long trips behind the wheel, my leg is as fresh as a May rose upon arrival.”

From various cycling forums:
“Used X soxs socks. The foot actually gets less tired.”

“About compression garments and varicose veins. Regarding compression garments. First, go to a phlebologist and consult with him. Incorrectly fitted compression stockings or socks can only make the situation worse.”

“Works great for recovery and on long epics, more than 130 km. You put it on in the middle of the trip and it takes the fatigue off your legs.”

Zhenya Shipilov: “I always believed that compression stockings were needed for recovery, I myself use them only for this.”

I hope that you will write your feedback, no matter whether positive or negative, in the comments.

And now the important additions.

Compression clothing is expressly prohibited by UCI rules. It sounds like this:
“It is forbidden to wear non-essential items of clothing or items designed to influence the performances of a rider such as reducing air resistance or modifying the body of the rider (compression, stretching, support).”

According to UCI rules, the choice of clothing should be determined by the weather and not by an attempt to improve performance. Also strictly limited maximum height socks And the racers actually walk on the razor's edge. We saw this in downhill, we see it throughout modern clothes on the highway. In fact, constrictive clothing exists; it helps reduce air resistance, and probably no one except the rider knows how strong the compression effect is. In addition, the rule of using compression is regularly violated and is normally used only at top road races and races at the World Cup level and above. For example, in enduro, compression stockings are widely used by riders at European Cup stages, where UCI judges stand at every start and finish.

An example of a topic with a height limit for socks/shoe covers.

There is another point that is rarely talked about, but it definitely exists. Psychological. Honestly, this is why compression is in last years I use it. Valya Popov told me the same thing about himself. When you put on a compression suit, you begin to feel strongly that you are wearing clothing. If we're talking about about enduro and you have no protection, then this effect helps dull the feeling of fear on the descent. Closed elbows in DH and enduro, closed knees in cross-country. For me personally, this gives a noticeably greater feeling of protection, which in fact has not increased one gram. That is, it helps morally and there is absolutely no thought in my head that this will somehow help the result through better blood circulation.

Well, here's my personal review.
Now I have 2XU clothes on test, which I replaced with the photos of girls above. I will write a story about it, but I’ll say right away that the quality of compression clothing, taking into account past tests about their equal effectiveness, is probably fair to evaluate not by the effect on the body. Because it’s normal that we won’t check it anyway. But there are quite clear parameters - the quality of the seams, comfort, the presence of problem areas in the models (and in my experience they happen more often than it seems), whether the fabric deteriorates from wearing (and it deteriorates in many compression suits!), etc. In addition to 2XU, I have already used Skins, Nike, Craft and even, out of curiosity, a couple of representatives of the Chinese no-name. And the problems are surprising in their diversity.
In general, this is ahead and there is a separate post about what to pay attention to.

IN Lately a lot of people involved in any kind of sports (exposing their muscles to intense training), come to classes, to competitions, and also recover after heavy loads in tight-fitting, tight suits that emphasize the figure - in so-called compression clothing. Although not so long ago, when you entered the gym, you saw people there in loose shorts and large, oversized T-shirts; it was convenient for training and also hid figure flaws. What has changed? Why is all this needed?

Let's see - what does compression clothing give a person in sports and in boxing in particular?

Compression sportswearmade of specialized elastic materials (sometimes with the addition of various components that improve one or another property of compression clothing) that fit the body. The word compression means “squeezing” in English. That is, these are clothes that provide balanced pressure on certain areas of the body.

Compression technologies (squeezing technologies) appeared in medicine more than 60 years ago to treat patients suffering from vein diseases by increasing blood circulation, reducing blood pressure, oxygen saturation of tissues. Sports doctors immediately took note of the good effects of such clothing. In the late 1980s, scientists began researching whether athletes could benefit from wearing compression garments that improved circulation. It turned out that the use of compression socks improved venous circulation in the leg, which reduced swelling and stretching and lowered the level of lactic acid in the blood after grueling exercise. Later they began to use compression clothing for other parts of the body in order to expand the potential capabilities of the body, improve muscle performance, reduce their vibrations, and improve posture.

Such clothing supports the muscles, enhances the athlete's movements, preserving and returning energy when muscles stretch and contract during physical activity.

A set of compression clothing provides the athlete with a little more endurance, strength, and energy efficiency. Compression clothing fits tightly to the body and allows you to better feel every movement, which means better control of the situation. The athlete can perform at full strength at higher speeds and for longer periods of time.

Advantages compression clothing :

• Maximizes the power of movement - causes increased blood flow and increases oxygen delivery to muscle groups, thereby improving performance.
• minimizes fatigue, allows you to quickly recover after the most intense workout- Improving blood circulation also helps the body reduce the build-up of lactic acid and other metabolic waste products.
• reduces muscle tension, minimizes the risk of cramps - compression clothing, as it were, fixes the muscles and prevents vibrations during movement, thus saving energy, preventing injuries and the body gets back into work faster.
• removes moisture, retains heat, protects from the sun and gives comfort.

Thanks to such remarkable properties of compression clothing, many athletes use it not only for training and competition, but also for recovery. In addition, compression clothing has become part of everyday life, used for standing work or during long hours of air travel or long car trips.

Another benefit of compression clothing is the fabric's ability to wick sweat away from the body, keeping you warm in the winter or cool in the summer.

Types of compression clothing

Rashguard (rashguard or rash guard - literally “protector against rash”) is an elastic T-shirt with short or long sleeves, made of special materials, which fits snugly to the body. This piece of equipment is now used by fighters of all directions.

What are the advantages of a rashguard over regular cotton T-shirts?

• Rashguard performs all of the above functions - endurance, injury prevention, improved blood circulation
• Rashguard is excellent remedy protection from an unscrupulous sparring partner. In this equipment, the likelihood of contracting any skin disease, irritation or acne is reduced to zero. And due to antibacterial impregnation, you get full protection from pathogenic bacteria and microbes.
• Rashguards allow air to pass through well, dry very quickly and practically do not tear. It takes a lot of effort to spoil and tear such equipment. It is very convenient and effective to exercise in it; you practically do not feel it on yourself, since it is very light. It is for this reason that a rashguard is often called the “second skin” of an athlete.
• In such outfit minor abrasions and you are not afraid of burns on mats.
• During a break, this equipment does not allow your body to cool down, which helps prevent sprains and minor injuries to muscles and ligaments.
• Don’t forget about the aesthetic appearance of an athlete, especially if you have a sculpted body. A fighter dressed in such tight-fitting equipment looks very impressive and intimidating to his opponent.

Compression shorts and pants perform the same function as rash guards. They provide targeted compression for better blood circulation, remove sweat, keep the body warm, save energy and prevent injury.

I use these clothes both on their own and under shorts.

Perform the same function. Should be in the arsenal of all athletes, since no matter what sport you engage in, the legs always experience the greatest load - especially for boxers, on whose footwork at least 40% of the success of the fight depends.

A compression sleeve on the arm is suitable for any sport where there is stress on the arms and forearms. It wraps the arm in a tight ring, preventing strong stretching from occurring, that is, it keeps the muscles in a normal state. During work and stress, gradient compression technology helps relieve fatigue in the arm muscles. The compression sleeve regulates temperature and wicks away moisture.

So, compression clothing will help make your training, competition or recovery period after heavy loads more fruitful. With compression - You can always count on additional support, reduced injury and faster recovery. It’s not for nothing that all superheroes wear tight suits...

Sooner or later, any athlete encounters compression clothing. Many people have a question: how does it work (and whether it works at all), how to choose it and wear it correctly. Let's try to figure this out together!

Why do you need compression clothing?

Initially, compression was used exclusively for medical purposes: compression gives good results in the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, joints and circulatory system. This effect accelerates blood circulation and microcirculation, improves the outflow of venous blood. Subsequently, compression clothing began to be used not only for treatment, but also in Everyday life: for example, during sedentary work, while traveling, when you sit in one position for a long time (especially on an airplane, where your legs swell the most).

Athletes also paid attention to compression, because it speeds up warming up, supports muscles, and helps recover after exercise.

How it works?

The essence of the work of compression clothing is to compress muscles and blood vessels with varying intensities to simplify the functioning of the circulatory system. Rising from the bottom up and returning from the limbs to the heart, the blood overcomes the force of gravity and passes through special valves in the veins.

When working in the usual rhythm, they allow blood to pass upward and do not allow it to return and accumulate below, because this leads to the occurrence of edema and blood clots. When the load increases, for example, if you are forced to stand for a long time or during intense long-term training, the valves may not cope with their function, since at this time the pulse accelerates and is overloaded circulatory system. To prevent such changes from leading to edema and thrombosis, compression clothing is used to “straighten” the valves and optimize their functioning.

Compression garments provide differentiated compression: the lower the muscles are located, the stronger the compression should be to make it easier for blood to move from an area of ​​higher pressure to a lower one.

Why does an athlete need compression clothing?

Wearing compression garments during different phases of training helps achieve a variety of goals.

Let's start with the very first stage: warm-up. Before playing sports, squeezing the muscles has a beneficial effect on circulation, accelerates the blood, thereby reducing the time required to warm up. And the better you warm up, the less likely you are to get injured during training or competition.

During class Compression clothing is no less necessary. Firstly, it supports the muscles and thereby reduces the degree of trembling and vibration, preventing microtrauma. This reduces the overall feeling of fatigue and increases productivity: you can train longer and more efficiently. Secondly, increased blood circulation allows you to better saturate the muscles with oxygen, the lack of which causes a feeling of fatigue and weakness, and reduces performance. At the same time, the heart rate decreases (and we all know that training at the limit of the heart rate puts too much stress on the heart, causing more harm than good). Third, high blood pressure on the surface of the skin helps the athlete to better sense the position of the body in space, which makes him more dexterous and stable.

After playing sports, the muscles need more powerful compression. Special clothing accelerates venous outflow and reduces the time required for recovery. Together with venous blood and lymph, lactate is removed from the muscles, causing pain the next day after training. This means that the muscles will hurt less even after intense exercise.

In addition, the use of compression clothing can reduce the risk of varicose veins and thrombosis, normalizing blood flow not only on the surface, but also in the deep veins.

In order not to be unfounded, we will present a couple of facts confirmed by research. Scientists from Massey University ( New Zealand) found that 24 hours after an intense 10 km race, 93% of athletes who did not use compression clothing experienced pain in the calves and lower legs. Among runners who used compression socks, only 14% experienced such muscle pain. Impressive, right?

Scientists at the University of Exeter, in turn, studied the effect of compression clothing on the body's recovery time after exercise. For 4 days after the grueling plyometric training, the subjects repeated a set of three strength exercises. It turned out that productivity increased already on the first day after the load, and muscle pain subsided.

When should and when should you not wear compression clothing?

1. Compression clothing is recommended for use during grueling, long-term workouts, when the load is quite high for you. But you shouldn’t wear compression during your usual, routine activities: with constant use of such support, your blood vessels and muscles will simply “get lazy” and stop maintaining their natural tone. An additional reason to wear compression clothing as the load increases may be a predisposition to varicose veins. If spider veins, swollen veins and edema are a common thing for you, compression garments will become your indispensable assistant.

2. Compression clothing will help you warm up faster during competition, use your body's resources more efficiently, and be less likely to suffer from muscle soreness the next day.

3. Anyone good manufacturer Compression clothing has a line for recovery with a higher degree of compression than in training models. As we have already said, using such clothing during the rest period allows the muscles to return to normal faster and reduces pain after grueling workouts.

Compression clothing 2XU

The brand name stands for “Two times you”. This means that wearing compression garments unlocks your potential, doubling the impact of your investment. 2XU products are used by world champions and top sports teams, and have also provided successful recovery for many professional basketball and football players. The brand's compression clothing is used by professional triathletes such as Cameron Brown, eleven-time Ironman New Zealand winner, Jan Frodeno, winner of the 2015 Ironman World Championship and Olympic gold medal winner, Nadia Ruiz, the youngest woman to run 100 marathons.

2XU compression clothing is made from a unique PWX fabric, exclusively developed by the company's engineers. There are 3 fabrics that differ in their properties: PWX Power, PWX Weight, PWX Flex. Each is created for specific purposes, has its own compression force, density, and elasticity.

What types of compression clothing are there?

1. Knee socks, leg warmers and socks

Supports lower leg muscles, reduces the risk of spasms and injuries. They improve blood flow, reducing swelling where it is most needed: in the lower legs, where blood usually stagnates. from 2XU are made from the most powerful fabric in the PWX line - Power, provide support from the ankle to the knee. Developed 3 different types: for training and competitions, with differentiated compression; for recovery - more dense, made of PWX Weight fabric; for training in the cold season - thermal socks with the addition of merino wool.

2. Tights and shorts

This category can be divided both by length and compression properties. If we are talking about length, you can choose shorts, full length or ¾ length. suitable for use with leg warmers and knee socks; it is better to wear socks with tights. Tights, like all 2XU compression clothing products, are presented in three main categories: for training and competition, for recovery and for use in the cold season.

3. Sleeves and legs

The sleeves support the biceps, triceps and forearms and are available in training and insulated versions. Pants legs create compression of the muscles of the back of the thigh and lower leg, quadriceps and calf muscles, reminiscent of the elongated leg warmers we discussed above. There are specialized models for recovery and training in cool weather.

4. T-shirts

They differ in sleeve length: with long, short sleeves and without them (T-shirts). Models with long sleeves are also available in a warm, winter version with the addition of wool.

Functional features of 2XU clothing

1. Recovery clothing

If the word “ ” appears in the name, be prepared for differentiated compression and dense fabric. The pressure on the muscles in recovery tights is significantly different: in the lower part the compression is stronger, in the upper part it is weaker. Due to this difference, venous outflow is facilitated, lactic acid is eliminated faster, the stagnation of which in the muscles causes pain the next day after training. Just wear these clothes for a couple of hours after intense exercise and you will feel better.

2. Elite Series

Clothes from this series are designed for particularly intense activities. In addition to the usual PWX Flex fabric (70 denier) for training compression, it uses denser PWX Weight inserts (105 denier), which specifically target the most important areas: abdominal area, forearms, buttocks, back of the thigh, lower leg.

3. Elite MCS Series

MCS is short for . This is a technology based on adding thin inserts of denser tissue in areas where key muscles, ligaments and tendons are located. The internal stamp follows their contours and holds them securely in place, providing a targeted compression effect. Who needs this kind of increased support? Those who use weights in their training, make jerks, sharply accelerate and brake, and also repeat exercises many times over a long period of time.

Caring for compression clothing

You have decided to buy compression clothing, you have chosen the right size using a special table (advice: if you are on the border of sizes and plan to use the clothing mainly for recovery, choose a smaller one). Your compression garment should fit snugly but not cause extreme discomfort or cut into your skin.

How to wear compression clothing?

You should put it on carefully, without jerking or sudden movements, so as not to damage the fabric. It might be a little easier for women :) Special attention You should pay attention to putting on tights, since they are sewn from separate parts (socks, for example, have a circular knit) and are tapered towards the bottom. Gently put them on, starting from the toes, and then gradually pull them up your leg. The bottom of the tights should be just above the ankle, closer to the calf muscle.