Athletes usually wear compression sportswear, such as shirts, tights, shorts, socks, underwear, or sleeves. Compression sportswear are spandex-type form-fitting garments that are believed to bring tons of benefits when doing exercises.
In this post, you’ll learn more about the benefits of compression shirts during a workout.
Reduce Muscle Soreness
In one study, cricket players wearing compression garments were monitored for their sprint and throwing performance, and the results show that they had lower muscle soreness ratings 24 hours after such physical activities.
Provide Support and Comfort
It’s a good idea to wear white compression shirts to match whatever color of sports shorts or bottoms you wear while providing muscle support. Muscle trauma is also prevented using compression garments, most especially compression shirts for the abdominal, shoulder, and back muscles.
While wearing loose-fitting clothes is comfortable when you’re lounging at home, it is best to wear a compression shirt during exercise. Loose clothing offers little support during workout, which can be uncomfortable and make you more susceptible to injury. Make sure to get the maximum levels of support during exercise by wearing compression shirts to ensure comfort and body support.
Reduce Injuries
Compression shirts and other compression garments can increase extension and flexion that can help reduce hamstring injuries. During exercise and competition, wearing compression gear reduces vibration in your skeletal muscles. This reduced vibration then lessens muscle trauma.
A compression shirt can also help reduce biochemical alterations and fatigue during endurance training. After exercise, wearing a compression shirt can help avoid exercise-induced muscle damage. Because of this, you can expect less soreness, fluid retention or edema, and faster recovery.
Reduced Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness refers to a natural body process associated with intense exercise. This condition causes the muscles to become sore and painful. Compression garments can be beneficial to reduce rates of DOMS, most especially among runners. It is because compression sportswear helps boosts blood circulation. In this way, the muscles can easily repair themselves, so they become less painful after exercise.
Improve Blood Circulation
The right amount of compression varies depending on your body area, which is around 10 to 25 mmHg. It improves oxygenation and venous return of working muscles. With improved blood circulation, oxygen, and nutrients will go to the muscle cells to initiate the faster recovery process.
Here are the benefits of proper blood circulation during exercise brought upon by compression garments:
- Faster tissue repair
- Faster muscle recovery
- Reduce sports injuries
- Better skin health
Improve Mechanics
Compression garments help reduce muscle oscillations, optimizing the muscle fibers’ contraction direction while also improving running kinematics and mechanical efficiency. With proper blood circulation, faster recovery, and body support, you’ll have better body movements and posture so you can perform at your best, most especially during competitions.
Wicks Sweat Away
Wearing regular cotton shirts during exercise results in dampness due to perspiration, which is a natural by-product of the body during exercise. Wearing a shirt that is soaking wet with perspiration smells pretty bad. Also, it has another negative effect of weighing you down during your exercise.
Compression garments, on the other hand, are made from materials specially designed to wick sweat away from the body during exercise. The perspiration is drawn into and out of the material to evaporate instead of being soaked up quickly. Because of this, your compression clothing stays dry and light, and you get more from your daily workout.
Compression Shirts Tips
- Use the manufacturer’s size chart if you’re buying a new compression shirt to know the perfect fit for you. It’s because manufacturers of compression sportswear follow varying size standards. Choosing the right size will help avoid discomfort due to too much pressure, while also allowing free movement for optimum exercise performance.
- If it’s your first time to wear any compression clothing, it’s a safer option to select one with a larger size. By doing so, you won’t feel being squeezed when wearing it.
- Wear a compression shirt that is one size down. It will help enhance your performance especially if you already experienced wearing compression shirts because of your body being used to the squeezing sensation.
Conclusion
Wearing a compression shirt can help improve blood circulation, providing more oxygenated blood to your muscles during and after exercise for faster muscle recovery. Compression garments also help reduce muscle soreness and injuries along with helping improve your gait and mechanics for increased performance.