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compression clothing
24 | Touchline issue 23 | April 2016
C
ompression clothing has become the latest
fashion accessory and has been attributed with
a range of performance and recovery benefits.
There are now numerous manufacturers of
compression clothing ranging from household
brand names to small specialist companies.
It has a great following – but are the benefits real or
perceived? David Lamb, Sportscover Australia CEO, is
a serious amateur tri/athlete who, in his spare time,
competes in events around the globe. Here he gives
his opinion on compression clothing and what to look
for when choosing the right clothing for you.
Like many amateur athletes, my first experience of sports
compression clothing came with some false expectations.
This was largely due to lack of education of the staff selling
at a retail level, and my instinct to go with the big brand
names stocked in the large sports store. The brand was a
major international sports brand, and the engineering was
typically high quality. Unfortunately my experiences with the
garments did not match the hype of the marketing campaign
and rendered them almost useless.
The trouble was that firstly, the fabric used was great in
restricting a lot of activity. In fact it was more suited to
smoothing out my many bumps under my clothing but
so incredibly annoying to do any kind of training in, and
moisture management had not been considered greatly,
so not only was it uncomfortable but it was also quite wet!
Ewwww! Secondly, I didn’t understand the recovery piece
of the puzzle. A great compression garment should actually
deliver most of its benefit post training. However, again, I
found the garments so annoyingly restrictive to wear, that
I couldn’t wait to get them off. Predictably, the garments
ended up in a recycling bin somewhere.
Compression has become a euphemism for tight fitting
athletic clothing, whether for actual use in sport, or for “Active
Wear” whilst heading down to the café for a latte or a fashion
statement whilst doing the grocery shopping. Awareness of
the real benefits behind well-constructed and properly tested
compression garments is still at the early stages (outside of
professional or elite levels), even now when there is plenty
of stock in the market place, despite the fact that a large part
of the testing and product development has been completed
and the ability to make an informed choice between genuine
compression wear and “Active Wear”.
Many are confused between garments that are tight fitting,
and may have some performance characteristics, such
as moisture management, anti-microbial (non stink), and
behave as a thermal base layer, and real sports compression
garments with a multitude of benefits.
The difference generally can be broken down by simply
considering the three core components that go into any
garment:
1.
Design. How is the garment designed to fit, and is
that fit commensurate with the desired usage. Refer my
introduction – my expectation was that I would be able to
train in the garments. Compression garments should be
designed to actually compress, for good scientific reasons.
2.
Fabric construction and characteristics. There are
so many fabrics available to manufacturers, that
constant review and testing is a major part of any brand
development. Does the fabric do what the manufacturer
claims it does? Does it wick your sweat away easily and
consistently? Does it provide UV protection? Does it retain
its elasticity after multiple uses? Does it deteriorate after
COMPRE SS I ON
C L O T H I NG :
By David Lamb
F A S H I ON O R F UN C T I ON ?