You’ve probably seen many athletes, professional or not, wearing really tight shorts, calf sleeves and other equipment that is tight and long.

If you’ve ever wondered what those are and what’s their use, the things you’re seeing are compression clothes. However, those clothes are not just to hold the muscles tight or just for show, these actually bring many health and fitness benefits.

The Benefits of Compression Clothes

Compression clothes or garments are pieces of clothing that, when worn, fit tightly around your skin. Their use is vast, including medical and sports context. These include socks, sleeves, calf sleeves, shorts, and many other pieces.

What is more, they are usually worn for additional support, improving blood circulation and in order to prevent chafing and rashes, but besides these few benefits, compression clothing brings many other and you can click here to find out more about them.

However, read on for additional fitness and health benefits of compression clothing worn during exercising.

Reduced Muscle Fatigue

girl holding her shoulder in pain in front of a swimming pool

When you wear compression clothes during your exercise, that tight feeling and support around the muscles will help you improve your workout performance.

This happens because when compressed, muscles avoid becoming too fatigued, which provides you with more durability and energy to exercise better and longer. Also, these can help you recover faster because they minimize muscle soreness during and after workouts.

This simply means that you can run longer and faster, do more squats or lift heavier weights, while the recovery will improve leaving you ready to exercise more even on the next day already.

Prevention of Injuries

doctor adjusting a patients knee

Believe it or not, compression clothes can help you reduce any risks of injuries during exercising. If you’re running a lot, lifting heavy weights or you simply like to push yourself to exercise better and harder, there’s always the risk of straining a muscle or hurting your joints.

But, with compression socks, like knee sleeves for example, your muscles are tightly packed and joints are secured which significantly reduces the risks of any injuries. So, it’s safe to say that these provide more stability and balance, but you should be careful nevertheless.

Improved Blood Flow

red-blood-cells

Compression clothing has a medical background and they are originally made for improving blood circulation for patients with such problems. So, it’s no wonder they’ve made their way into sports in order to enhance performance and improve recovery.

All these benefits are due to improved blood flow which brings more strength to your muscles through oxygenation. During workouts, our muscles need a lot of oxygen in order to function properly.

Thus, by compressing your muscles you are improving your blood flow which then increases the amount of oxygen that your muscles receive.

More Flexibility Provided

woman stretching on a yoga mat

The best physical feature of compression clothing is its stretchiness. When exercising, you perform various different moves, such as extending, stretching and lifting, and all those moves could be restricted by your clothes, which can affect your performance.

But, when wearing compression clothes, you are allowed to perform more movements with easy because of their flexibility and they will not hold you back. Also, you will reduce the risk of injuries because of your clothes restricting you.

They Keep You Dry

woman doing the tree pose on the coast

Compression gear such as shorts, tank tops, and tights are usually made of nylon or polyester and other similar materials which will help you dry faster during your workouts.

Since you will be sweating a lot, these clothes will not repel the water, but they will lift it upward from the fabric, bringing the sweat to the surface and let it evaporate.

This will allow you to move around better and focus on your performance because you won’t be soaking in your own sweat.

Conclusion

Besides looking stylish and sporty, compression clothes bring many benefits. They can keep your muscles and joints safe and secure which will prevent you from any sports-related injuries.

Also, they will improve your blood flow and keep your muscles fueled with oxygen and necessary nutrients for better performance. So, if you wish to improve your exercising experience, you should try some of the compression gear and enjoy your healthy lifestyle.

Keep reading: Best Muscle Compression Bands