If you workout, you will more than likely have experienced that feeling. Be it the day after leg day, a run, or a ride. It is the feeling that leaves you looking at a staircase with a new level of hate. This would be delayed onset muscle soreness, otherwise known as DOMS. I am sure, like me, you will have done those sessions where, when you hit ‘save’ on your device a ‘helpful’ little message pops up saying ’72 hours recovery’. And you think wait, what? I have another workout scheduled before then.
Improving DOMS
There are several different things I use to help in this area: a warm-up, a post workout protein shake, stretching and incorporating yoga. Foam rolling, Epsom salts, magnesium spray and compression boots can all help. Some people may opt for cold baths, but I will admit this has never been something I can stomach!
Who are Kymira Sport
Kymira Sport are a brand founded by an athlete and biochemist following a lot of research. I am always a fan of products that have been developed by people who will actually use them, and I believe that it shows in the result.
Kymira sent me some leggings which promised to reduce DOMS. They been have developed following over a decade of research and testing.
So how do they work?
Well the leggings use KYnergy, their own patent technology, which ‘recycles human energy. Heat emitted by the body is absorbed by the thermo-reactive minerals in the fibre and converts it into infrared light.’ It is this technology that helps with circulation and assists with faster recovery.
As I mentioned above, I often use compression boots, and while these are great you are obviously restricted to being in one place for however long you are using them. The idea of a piece of clothing that could help in the same way was appealing. Most of us lead busy lives, in my case I have a full time job, family, dog and when I factor in training I don’t always have the luxury of time to allow for treatments that need more time.
So did they work?
I am currently following a cycling training plan. I’m on week 6 so the intensity has increased, sessions are longer in duration and I am most definitely feeling the fatigue in my legs. I have now worn the leggings for a week before training, during strength sessions and yoga and after, and here are some of my thoughts:
- the elasticated waistband is really comfortable
- there is no fight to get on as you can all too often find with some compression wear
- they are very comfortable overall although I had a women’s size large and at 5 foot 6 inches tall, I found them quite long
- they wash up great
- no chaffing or discomfort when wearing during a workout
- squat proof (this is important and one of the first things I check with leggings)
- they don’t move around during exercise (nothing worse than having to adjust)
Now if I am being honest, I can’t claim that they reduce DOMS. But I can say that I didn’t have any discomfort during the time I was testing them and certainly nothing I would describe as DOMS for sure. I was not sure if I was supposed to feel something when wearing them, as they use the infrared technology. But they didn’t feel any different to a normal pair of leggings.
Find our more
If you head over to their website there is a large selection of resources should you wish to investigate this more and I would recommend either:
- The article on using the Kymira products to help with recovery here, or
- The article that talks about infrared compared to compression here
The leggings I tried are £80 and can be found here.
Read more from Lisa.
Leave a Reply