Compression apparel sits in an awkward place: the marketing overclaims, which makes it easy to dismiss the parts that are actually supported.
The supported part is graduated compression for venous return. Pressure that is highest at the ankle and decreases up the calf assists the direction blood is already travelling on its way back to the heart. This has reasonable evidence behind reduced post-exercise soreness and swelling, particularly after long-duration or high-eccentric work.
The word doing the work is graduated. Uniform pressure — a garment that is simply tight everywhere — does not produce this effect. A great deal of what is sold as compression is just a snug fit, and the distinction is not visible from the product page.
The overclaimed part is acute performance. Compression during a session does not reliably make you faster or stronger. What it does reliably do is change proprioceptive feedback, which some athletes find genuinely useful for trunk position under heavy load. That is a real benefit; it is just not the one on the packaging.
The honest summary: buy graduated compression for recovery and for the days after hard work, where the evidence is decent. Buy compression tops for the trunk feedback if you like how it feels under load. Do not buy either expecting a performance gain during the session itself.
Written by
CHISSELED Performance
Part of the CHISSELED coaching and studio team. Everything published here is written by people who train, program or build the products they are writing about.