Clear gels, massage boots, sleep masks, here's hi-tech gear for quick recovery
New equipment and machines keep showing up in gyms and the Internet from time to time. That has been the case since before you or I were around and will likely continue to till the end of time. Despite all the new additions, the best exercise equipment till date remain the timeless barbell, dumbbell, free weights, pull-up bars and skipping rope. The real innovation in the exercise world, so to speak, has been in nutrition, recovery and activity tracking.
The advancements in nutrition, sports science and medicine coupled with a lot of groundbreaking research over the last couple of decades have not only improved standards and athletic performances while shattering records in various sports, they have also improved the fitness levels and health of recreational athletes, weekend warriors and fitness enthusiasts. All this progress is also trackable now thanks to new age wearable technology that can measure sleep, heart rate, count steps, record workouts, track runs, swims and rides and even keep a log of every step, kick and tackle in a football game and much more.
Also read: Pain, persistence and teamwork: What I learnt from my first Hyrox race
NIKE HYPERICE BOOTS
Nike has been going through quite a tough time, and this collaboration with recovery gear major Hyperice is a part of its efforts to turn things around with innovation and compelling new products. Hyperice has managed to shrink its Normatec Compression recovery sleeves technology to fit into slightly outlandishly large high top shoes that massage your feet while you go about your day. And how cool it would be if those massage shoes also doubled up as a hot compress? The Nike Hyperice Boots do just that: they deliver heat and massage therapy on the go. There are three heat levels and three compression levels to choose from which makes the therapy customisable as per one's needs and tolerance. The massage is delivered by pushing air into pockets built into the boots while the heat comes from the warming elements bonded to the pockets.
As a recreational runner, I can already picture many runners sporting these a day after a race, and on planes on their way back home after a marathon or an ultra. As a fortnightly footballer, I would like nothing more than driving back home in these boots while they attend to my battered ankles. At $899 a pair, they don't come cheap. The Nike Hyperice Boot is likely to inspire a range of knock-off shoes because who doesn't like a hot foot massage on the go?
MAURTEN GELS AND DRINK MIXES
Sports nutrition is big business today. The category is growing consistently and is projected to be worth $53.27 billion this year. This growth is not only because of rising demand among the burgeoning health conscious and active people but also because of robust R&D creating new and effective products. Ask any veteran endurance sports enthusiast and they will tell you how gels have caused them gastrointestinal issues, made them gag and feel nauseous. These essential mid-race carb boost supplements have come a long way from then. Today, there are products that can deliver the required carb boost in a drink form as well.
Currently, Maurten's hydrogel technology is all the rage in sports nutrition. It's clear gels are very popular among both elite and recreational athletes and it also has carbs that can be ingested as a sports drink. Maurten's Drink Mix can deliver up to 40 grams of carbs when dissolved in 500ml water. 'The Drink Mix becomes a hydrogel upon contact with stomach acid, encapsulating the carbohydrates and helping to reduce the sensation of sloshing in the stomach when consuming fuel during exercise," claims the brand.
Also read: Running shoes review: Adidas Adizero Takumi Sen 10 vs Nike Alphafly 3
PNEUMATIC COMPRESSION SLEEVES
You've probably seen footballers and cricketers relaxing in black puffed up leg sleeves. These are the pneumatic compression leg recovery systems that were first made famous by Normatec. In the beginning, they were used exclusively in recovery and rehab rooms of big sports teams but today they are everywhere. Even the sports massage therapist that visits my friend in Mumbai has a pair and offers his clients a session in these for a small fee. I have been using a pair of Normatec sleeves for four years now and can vouch for their effectiveness. While these pneumatic compression systems are used for warm-up as well, I find they are best used after a session of sport or exercise. The legs feel much lighter and less painful by the time the session is done. This recovery gear uses dynamic air pressure to deliver a massage. You can set the duration and choose from seven intensity levels. It also has a preset that helps you sleep. There are attachments to massage your arms and hips as well. Therabody, the makers of the popular Theragun, also offer a leg recovery system and there are already plenty of knock-offs on the market at half the price.
THERABODY SLEEP MASK
Ask any elite sportsperson, coach or doctor and they are likely to tell you that the most important thing in any recovery protocol is sleep. It's no wonder that at the Paris Olympics, the Indian contingent had installed sleep pods for athletes inside the Games Village, and the medical team admitted that these sleep pods were in high demand. Sleep pods are large and expensive making them impractical and unaffordable for most individuals. But here's an affordable and effective sleep aid: a blackout eye mask that delivers a soothing massage. Therabody's Sleep Mask is a blackout eye mask with a vibrating pod. Users can choose from three vibration patterns and adjust the intensity as per their liking. The brand claims that the sleep mask helps 'you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, get deeper sleep and wake up less."
WHOOP TRACKER AND OURA RING
That screen less band that every cricketer sports these days is the Whoop tracker. It has become very popular in India since it debuted en-masse on Indian cricketers' wrists, this despite the fact that Whoop users have to pay an annual subscription fee to track activities, sleep, heart rate and a lot more as well as get detailed insights through monthly reports and a quick overview through a smartphone app. Whoop has taken things up a notch with the recent launch of its latest tracker with medical grade abilities that can measure blood pressure and ECG too.
Another popular tracker that has shot into limelight in the last few years is the Oura smart ring. A subscription-based tracker it is great at tracking sleep and heart rate. While it tracks workouts too, it is not as efficient at it as the Whoop tracker or Apple Watch or any of the Garmin smart watches. However, it is small and not in your face like most other wrist-based trackers and lets you track your activities without announcing to the world that you are doing so.
Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and the co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.
Also read: How to master the drop jump and work with gravity to increase your strength and speed
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