28 October 2010

Product review: Zensah compression socks

Another product review of a company that I saw at the Outdoor Retailer show this summer.

Prior to receiving a pair of compression socks from Zensah for review purposes, I have never worn any type of compression garment. I had no idea what to expect. I didn't know what type of "compression" to expect. I also didn't know what the benefits of compression socks or tights were, so I did some quick research on the interweb:

Compression Sportswear or Compression tights are designed to help give athletes a physical and psychological competitive advantage over their opponents.

The alleged benefits of wearing compression tights are: 
  • Improving athletic performance by maintaining repeated jump performance
  • Reduce muscle movement and vibration and focus the direction of the muscle
  • Reducing the risk of Sports injuries
  • Maintaining body temperature and moisture wicking
  • Reducing the build up of Creatine kinase which is an indicator of muscle tissue damage.
  • Reducing the time taken for muscles to repair themselves[Reducing muscle soreness during post workout recovery
  • As an alternative to Compression stockings they can be worn during long flights to reduce the risk of Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) caused by pooling of blood in the lower legs  
These factors allow an athlete to increase both the duration and intensity of training and competition.
I wore them for the first time in competition during the Dirty Dash in September. Alleged benefits or not, I found them extremely comfortable, and I swear that they made my legs feel better than they should have running up and down the trails of Soldier Hollow resort. Due to my injury during the Dirty Dash, I haven't been able to try them out again, or do a "with and without" test, but I will definitely wear them next time I go running, and will post a long-term review after more time wearing them. . You can get more information at http://www.zensah.com/. They are available for purchase online, or at running stores across the nation.

they even look good muddy!

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