Men’s Compression Clothing Craze: Improve Performance and Speed up Recovery

Harder, better, faster, stronger!

That is on every athlete’s mind. Well, that and looking cool. They are in a constant pursuit after that extra one or two percents boost in performance, which is why in the past few years we have seen a significant increase in the popularity of mens compression clothing. Everywhere you see men armored in tight socks, shirts and pants which squeeze their muscles and have a reputation to be improving performance during training and speed up the recovery afterwards. Even professional athletes like basketball players, rugby players, marathoners, etc. claim that compression gear keeps them injury-free, diminishes soreness, improves their performance, enables faster recovery, and so on.

But does mens compression clothing really work or does it just have a placebo effect? To be honest, a little bit of both. Due to the recent popularity of compression clothing, it took a while for scientists to catch up with this practice, but there has already been a number of relevant scientific research to prove its effectiveness.

In terms of performance, the idea is that mens compression clothing increases blood circulation providing a better oxygen delivery, which improves sport performance. Compression clothing also gives you a better sense of how your body is positioned in space, thus improving the efficiency of your movement, making training less tiring. Also, evidence suggests that wearing compression clothes enhances a person’s aerobic and anaerobic threshold. However, compression clothes won’t prevent lactic acid accumulation, but will actually raise blood lactate accumulation, which is most likely from the anaerobic respiration. Even though they won’t improve your lactate clearance, they will allow you to train harder and longer, which is what training is really about. Have in mind that a seemingly insignificant 1% percent improvement in your performance can, for example, improve your marathon time for up to 2 minutes.

While performance is the main focus of most athletes, research shows that compression clothes can definitely speed up recovery after training. Anyone who has had a massage after a hard training knows that directly applying pressure can reduce inflammation and soreness. In a similar way, wearing compression clothes hours after a workout can significantly reduce fatigue and swelling.

In conclusion, it is safe to say that wearing compression during and after training will improve your performance and speed up the recovery process. Even if the effect is not as significant, it may be just what you need to up your game, plus, it will certainly make you feel more comfortable and confident while training.