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Compression clothing. I was having a discussion over lunch with someone who has bought some compression shorts (aka a girdle IMO!).
Is the jury still out on the benefits of this stuff or has someone produced empirical evidence to prove that it works?
Definitely works, if feeling/looking like a gimp is your goal.
LOL!
I am firmly of the belief that it is a load of old tosh and until someone proves it is beneficial outside of long haul flights and post operative recovery, I am not going to be parting with my hard earned.
It only works correctly when combined with Kinetic Sports Strapping Tape...
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and a healthy daily dose of vitamins and joint supplements 😛It only works correctly when combined with Kinetic Sports Strapping Tape...
I just write "placebo" on a post-it note everyday and chew it up.
Works for me 😉
The problem is that most of the studies aren't 100% independent (same as studies of Sports drinks where most of them carried out are funded by the drinks industry). I know a lot of athletes who swear by them and personally I often feel better the morning after sleeping in pair of compression tights post hard days running/riding/gym, but that could do more with the fact that they keep the muscles warmer at night or just the placebo effect. Get a cheap Aldi/Lidl pair and experiment yourself. TH wife reckons wearing Skins arms under her jersey while riding reduces muscle ache and fatigue the next day, but who knows?
I have a white compression top. I wear it under a short-sleeved jersey in the summer to keep the sun off my arms. In hot weather it is pretty cooling and it seemed to help with breathing when I was [s]blowing out my ar*e[/s] sizing up the back of the pelaton during races. I also have the long socks. Comfortable, but I have no idea whether there is any performance enhancement.
Compression socks certainly helped me reduce injuries while running and also decreased recovery time when worn overnight.
I wear a compression 'cold' baselayer in the velodrome under a short sleeved riding top. It does it's job of cooling pretty well although the main purpose for me is to stop my skin sticking to the track if/when I fall off....