Requisite Recovery
Recovery Pump Recovery Boots; $1,495 At the 2011 Rev 3 Quassy Half, I sought out the Pro Liaison Jacqui Gordon. I found her sitting in a white blow-up lazy boy with what looked like enormous full-length moon boots on her legs. She looked totally at ease and not even the least bit goofy. I was intrigued, and promptly zipped into my own pair. The Recovery Pump promotional team gave me a thorough explanation of what I was in for and what the boots were all about. Then they let me relax and chat with Gordon. My recent test-trial confirms my initial impression.
Triathletes like their gear and particularly gear that has the potential to make them do anything faster, including recover. The Recovery Pump Boots do just that. Chambered sleeves zip up the leg and fill sequentially with air. This accelerated compression technology simulates manual massage, f lushing metabolic waste and inf lammation up and out of the legs, allowing a process that would naturally take between 12 and 24 hours to happen in just a few hours. The technology is based on sound research and years of effective results in the medical community treating circulatory disorders. When to Use Recovery Pump suggests putting the boots on within 30 minutes of finishing a hard workout for 30 minutes, and then again later at night for an additional 30 minutes. They also suggest using the system 15 to 20 minutes prior to a hard workout. While I was less consistently able to get them on prior to a workout, when I did, my legs didn’t need quite as long to warm up. It’s hard to say whether that was physiological or psychological, knowing I had an extra tool in my arsenal.
The feeling, as the boots inf late and def late in pulses up your leg, is similar to the pressure of a good, deep-kneading massage, but it’s the after effect that users will really notice. From trying them on at a race expo, I knew they felt great, but now I know how efficiently and thoroughly they rid tired, lactic legs of the achy heaviness endurance athletes know well. The result is that I could get to my next hard workout more recovered and ready than usual. The Bottom Line What you will likely save on massage alone is worth the investment.– SZ