Calf guards – use it or not?

Runs, triathlons, swimruns or any other sport. You see athletes in long compression socks or calf guards/sleeves. You think – should I use it?

First you need to know what’s behind idea to use it.
Your understanding of compression should start with basic knowledge of your blood flows through your body. So, heart takes oxygenated blood to whole your body through arteries. Once your body uses oxygen and other nutrients from your blood it takes it back with lactic acid and other waste through veins to the heart where it’s oxygenated again. So, whole process is ongoing.

I’m sure you have heard that providing oxygen and nutrients is crucial for their work and effectiveness. Your muscles produce lactic acid as waste. It’s crucial to remove it to keep it sore free and high effectiveness of muscles work! Muscular vibration during physical activity contributes to fatigue. Imagine how much shock and vibration is going through your leg muscles as you hit ground with 3-5 times your body weight while running. Over time and distance, those little vibrations of the muscles add up and they become fatigued.

So, how compression works? Studies show that optimal level of consistent compression, the walls of the arteries will dilate, increasing the blood flow through. Arterial blood flow increases up to 40% during activity and 30% during recovery. So, more oxygen and nutrients going through the body! On the other hand, the walls of the veins will constrict under compression, which helps to increase the velocity of blood flow through them. More blood flow through veins means that deoxygenated blood and lactic acid will get back to the heart quicker, which will help to increase the rate of recovery and decrease muscle soreness! Compression will also help to stabilise the muscles and decrease the amount of muscular vibration, resulting in decreased fatigue.

To summarise the benefits of compression:

– better and stronger performance through increased blood flow
– quicker recovery
– decreased muscle soreness
– less fatigue.

At the end decision is up to you. With all researches and more and more athletes using it, it’s worth to try.

Zone3 calf guards are made in all sizes and lots of colours. You can find one suits you from all aspects! Check our compression stock.