Zoot Recovery 2.0 CRx LS Top Review
Often, we spend lots of time and money on our workout clothing, only to gloss over the need for post workout clothing. I have to admit, I’m as guilty as any of this; as soon as a workout’s over, I tend to immediately head to the next activity, not leaving any time for recovery.
Little did I know what I was missing.
The Zoot Recovery 2.0 CRx top is just that – a post workout recovery top designed to aid in recovering from tough workouts. The theory behind it is that post workout compression tends to aid in reducing swelling by forcing lactic acid out of your muscles. I know there is more science to it than this, but the fact is that lactic acid inhibits recovery, so the less of it present the better off you’ll be. Zoot also changed the composition of the compression fabric for the 2.0, endowing it with better moisture wicking capabilities. The build of the shirt is also interesting, in that it uses a technology which Zoot calls “Zone Rx.” This puts tighter fabric on specific muscle groups, targeting and shaping the compression effect. Rounding out the shirt is a nice touch – it’s got “SilverTECH” which is 99.9% anti-microbial. This is because Zoot understands that athletes sweat, and sweat smells bad.
Zone Rx – the shirt is stitched specifically to put compression where you need it most.
I had the opportunity to use this top several times over a four-week period. My usage consisted of wearing the top immediately after hard swim workouts, or lifting workouts where I concentrated heavily/solely on upper body. I’d recommend the top to anyone engaging in muscle strain in the upper body – rock climbing and any contact sport come to mind immediately. Zoot doesn’t have recommendations for the amount of time to wear the compression top after exercise, so I experimented with wearing them for both short and long periods of time as well.
Different material combinations help to wick away sweat and keep you dry.
As for whether or not there was actually less lactic acid in my muscles, I can’t say. I can say that my favorite use of the compression top is for situations where I worked out and then had a long drive home – I hate it when I immediately have to get in a car and drive after a hard workout, and I felt that the compression top reduced the amount of soreness I felt when getting out of the car. Also, I can vouch for the antimicrobial/moisture wicking qualities of the top – even after getting out of the pool, I felt dry and felt that the sweat/chlorine odor was reduced after the application.
Compression zones run across the back muscles as well.
One word of advice, though – learn how to put the shirt on before taking it to your favorite activity. It’s tight. Really, really tight. It took me a little bit of time to get it right on the right muscle groups the first time around, but after that it was a fairly simple process. Head on over to www.zootsports.com to read about zoot’s take on new compression technology.
