I found this article on PP Fitness, a Urban Ninja Ambassador project, and thought to share it. People ask me all the time about recovery. Obviously, nutrition plays a key part in recovery, but the one thing I could not live without is my compression gear.

Rockets Compression Gear was designed and introduced to the South African market by Peak Performance Fitness. These garments are exclusively invented to improve performance by speeding up one’s recovery rate. This concept has been scientifically tested & proven.

Compression Garments will improve your performance and recovery by:
• Increasing oxygen transport and delivery to the working muscles
• Assisting in removal of lactic acid from working muscles
• Accelerating venous return to the heart
• Ensuring greater mechanical efficiency by allowing less muscle vibration
• Assisting with temperature control

RCGs can be worn during exercise to improve performance, after exercise to assist with recovery, during rehabilitation to reduce swelling and assist with recovery, and finally, during long distance travel or periods of inactivity to reduce blood pooling or the onset of Deep Vein Thrombosis.

Lance Armstrong is always a well-dressed guy, but recently I’ve been getting questions about one of his newest fashion accessories: compression socks. Plenty of people have seen Lance wearing black knee-high socks on the bus after stages at the Tour de France, and he also wore them on the plane ride a few days ago during a transfer. His friend, comedian Robin Williams, also gave him a little grief about them in a video. So, what’s the deal with compression?

Well, compression technology is the latest recovery aid to hit the endurance sports world. The idea behind it is that compression around the legs improves recovery by assisting your body in the process of circulating blood and lymph fluids through fatigued muscles. People with circulation issues have used compression socks and stockings for many years, mainly to combat deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in veins deep within the lower leg) and varicose veins (veins with faulty valves that allow blood to pool in the veins instead of being rapidly returned to the heart). Their use in healthy populations – especially athletes – is relatively new, and there’s still a lot of research to be done to truly determine the impact they have on performance and recovery.

Last winter, CTS sports scientist Dean Golich started working with a pair of Normatec MVP compression boots. This piece of equipment, also used by the Garmin-Slipstream team, uses a pneumatic pump to apply compression to the legs and then release that pressure over and over again. The idea is to simulate the normal blood and lymph fluid pumping action that working muscles provide when you’re walking or cycling – but to do that while the athlete is resting.

Lance used the Normatec boots during his comeback training, and we had him wear them while lying down after rides. Overall, Lance’s response was good; his legs felt fresher and less sore the following day. Now, if you’re one of those people who needs proof and numbers before you believe that something works, I don’t have a whole lot to tell you. The Normatec boots are a new product, and the use of compression technology for enhancing performance and recovery is a relatively new technique. I think it’s a promising technology, and even if more research is needed to fully understand how it works, athletes are successfully using it already.

The compression socks that everyone sees Lance wearing at the Tour de France don’t work exactly the same way as the Normatec boots, in that they don’t have a pneumatic pump applying pressure to his legs. They are, however, smaller and much easier to put on in the bus, and you can walk around in them. Depending on the distance between the finish line and the team’s hotel, the trip back from the race can be quite long. When athletes sit for long periods of time after finishing a strenuous bout of exercise, they often experience some swelling in their legs and feet. No doubt many of you have had the same experience driving home from a race or century ride (cankles, anyone?). The compression socks seem to prevent some of his swelling, and that helps speed up the recovery process.

While wearing the compression socks and using compression boots after exercise appears to be effective for enhancing recovery, don’t expect to see Lance wearing compression socks on the bike. During exercise – at least during cycling – there doesn’t appear to be much, if any, benefit. Some runners and triathletes have reported benefits from using them during exercise, but like so much about compression technology, the research is still being developed. If there is a benefit to runners that doesn’t translate to cyclists, it may be due to the fact that the muscles in the lower legs are far more important for optimizing running performance. In cycling, the calves don’t add much in the way of power; they’re primary role is to stabilize the ankle and provide a stable platform to transfer the power generated by the upper leg and buttocks.

Training and recovery technologies come and go, but this one appears to have legs (pun intended). It will take a bit longer to sort out the science, but riders are experiencing good results from wearing them, and any little thing that can improve your recovery from one stage to the next is worth trying. And the best part is, compression socks and Normatec boots are simple and can be used while the athlete is doing exactly what they would normally be doing after a long race or training ride: relaxing.

If you are not using some form of Compression Gear, you are missing out on a vital piece of equipment in your arsenal. I choose Rockets because local is lekker, and because their product makes a HUGE difference to me in my training. Their pricing, by the way, is also phenomenal. Surf over to their website and check it out.

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Usain Bolt wants you to wear these for when he wins. Puma
is making them. Nice punt for one of the great partners who make Urban Ninja possible.

They tie to your back, so you can focus your arms on drinking a Jack Black whilst checking your heart rate on your Suunto , wearing your Rockets Compressox, with your Orca hoodie on for cold winter, and shooting a Whasp Green Mamba.

How was that for an associate punt? See – all my brands are what we in the biz like to call “complimentary services”.

Now go enjoy your weekend. I am going to use all my products this weekend. And next week…. I can announce that I have a new TITLE sponsor. I am very excited about this, but all I can say is that the trend of Urban Ninja having brands associated that are based on animal names continues… puma, whasp, orca…

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hello guys and girls. another cracking weekend in Cape Town saw the first From Monday workshop go down, as well as my first weekend of structured training.

why structured training I hear?

well, I have accepted a major challenge, and its for the greater good as well as for a bit of mental extremity. In an effort to grow and accept and take what comes, I have gained entry to some incredible races early next year, and aim to race 4 extreme races in the space of 4 months. they are:

1. Totalsports Challenge

2. sani2c

3. Cape Epic

4. Ironman South Africa

Just the entry for Epic is amazing, as the worlds toughest stage race, and a waiting queue of about 1000 people to get in, the fact that I got an entry is amazing.

BUT, there is more. In order to raise R100 000 for street girls…. YES, you heard me right. I want to raise R100 000 for a wonderful home in Cape Town called Ons Plek, which takes girls off the street, rehabs them, returns them to a life of meaning, and does this process over and over again.

I can only do this by racing all these races, as I am going in with a “sponsor 1km of my journey” campaign launching in about 8 weeks. I have entries, but here is where you come in.

I need sponsors to help cover the expenses to do the 4 races. The expenses are considerable. I believe not only does this website offer a worthy channel to advertise on, which all sponsors will receive, but I believe that with my partner for the MTB challenges, Brett Chilcott, that we can get some good TV time, and break the R100 000 barrier in funds.

Would you sponsor me? Do you know of anyone who wants to be involved with over 8000 people on a regular basis. This month, I have had over 52 000 unique visitors to this website. That is more than Runners World, Bicycling, Triathlete Magazine, Go-Multi and MSM magazine together.

I am asking for very little in real terms, if you look at those numbers. I am not asking you to support someone random. You read this blog, you get value from it, and you know that I offer a service of integrity, honesty, and a real return.

Dont believe me? Look at the list of people in my sidebar who already believe in this concept.

my proposal is attached ons-plek_urban-ninja-2009-2010-proposal here to have a look through at who is already involved, and to see what I am offering.

Any help will be hugely appreciated.

This blog has gone from zero to 2nd best Sports blog in South Africa. 3rd best Original Writing blog in South Africa, in the space of 12 months. Zero to 52 000 readers in 12 months.

This is the next phase in this incredible journey.

Can you help me?

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If you made it all the way here, I may as well direct you into the right direction from here…

1. Seth Godin discusses if marketing is evil.

2. Gordo is all about realities lately it seems.

3. Viljoensdrift Wines have a new BUBBLY! Hooray!

4. WebUrbanist has some great time lapse photography going on.

5. Alan Couzens has some vital information for the Ironman Athletes out there who should all be maxing out on recovery time between work outs right about now.

Have a great day people. If you want to see some quality product…

Kleinhoekkloof Wines
Puma
Orca
Jack Black Beer
Rockets Compression
Whaspgel
Suunto
Café Sociale

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