Nike Pro Vent Tight compression top
Compression technology has been popular amongst serious athletes for quite a while, and has now started to become more popular amongst less serious athletes like myself. A lot of athletic clothing claims to be designed by boffins with the sole aim of improving your training and racing performance, but I think most people just buy fancy "technical" clothing because it looks good or has a swish on it (I know I do). The fact that compression clothing does appear to be backed up by 'science' really appealed to me - I can look good and get an easier life when exercising!Nike are just one of many companies that produce compression clothing. I chose this Nike Pro Vent Tight top when I was I was in the Nike outlet store in Manchester's Lowry shopping centre. The tops were on offer at around £15 rather than £25 so I decided to give one a go. As you might know, I am much more motivated when I have something specific to work towards, so the fact that the tops were tight was also a great incentive for me to lose a few more pounds.
The fit
The tops are tight by name and very tight by nature. If you don't want to see all of your wobbly bits in sharp detail, either close your eyes when putting this thing on, or don't buy one at all. Trust me, unless you're some sort of adonis, these things are not flattering. Having said that, if you do start to look good in your top you're either warped or you are turning into an Adonis, so perhaps you can see it as something to aim for?
Getting in and out of the top is quite a challenge, which can feel a bit like a yoga lesson. When it comes out of the box for its first airing, you're going to wonder whether you picked the wrong size, as there appears to be just about enough material for a slinky pair of knickers. But the material is much more stretchy than your average knickers (if you're not a British male you might not have your own knickers, in which case please refer to your significant other's underwear drawer). Even so, getting into the top can be quite embarrassing if you're caught at it, so I suggest you do this alone for the first time - whether wearing knickers or not.
Once on, the tops are very comfortable and although you can see all of your bells and whistles in horrific detail, at least your bells and whistles feel well supported. You might also see a small reduction in your beer belly as the compression technology does one of its jobs. I assume the fat goes round the back, or under your armpits or something but I haven't been able to find mine, and whenever I take the top off it's right back there again on my belly.
In use
After the exertion of getting the top on (or "the bloody stupid thing" as you'll be calling it), you'll probably be warm enough to claim you've already done your workout, and might expect to sweat like a baboon when you actually start doing some proper exercise, but not so. Because the material is so close to the skin, your sweat wicks away much more quickly and easily than a normal t-shirt or even a wicking base-layer would do. According to some researchers, this can help your body regulate its temperature and so improve your training or competitive performance. The science also suggests that the tightness and cut of the clothing helps your body circulate blood and sweet, sweet oxygen to your exhausted muscles and move away the lactic acid, which should help both your endurance and your recovery.
In first outing, you'll probably only notice the tightness of the top for a few minutes. After that it feels very comfortable and natural against your skin. If yours doesn't, perhaps you got the wrong size?
Getting the top off again is quite a challenge (my strategy is to bend forwards, reaching round to the back and rolling the top up towards my shoulders a little before pulling from the base up and over my head, taking the arms out at the end). If it's very damp from your workout it'll be tricky so be careful, and again it might be best to do this in private until you've tried it a few times and feel more capable!
In re-use
One thing you'll definitely notice about the top is that it doesn't smell after it's dried out. I don't know what it's made of, but it definitely doesn't pick up the man-smell that other exercise kit does. I've been able to wear it for 3 workouts without any noticeable whiff, which is amazing. This is great if you only have one top and don't have time to wash it before the next workout/run.
Summary
The Nike Pro Vent Tight compression top started out for me as an experiment but has now become a definite favourite. I use it for cycling, running and weight training and it works well for all three. It's great as an autumn-weather base-layer as it warms your body just enough but also helps with cooling when your pushing hard.
It keeps you nicely "squeezed in", which helps in the gyms-are-for-posers stakes, and the fact that it doesn't easily develop a sweaty smell means that you can pose for days on end without people thinking "looks nice but I wouldn't want to be in the same room as him".
I'd highly recommend the tops to you and I'm definitely going to try other compression clothing - shorts/tights especially - to see if they can help out with my training and recovery as much as this one has.
If you fancy trying one out for yourself, you can Buy a Nike Pro Vent Tight top from Amazon.co.uk
The tops are tight by name and very tight by nature. If you don't want to see all of your wobbly bits in sharp detail, either close your eyes when putting this thing on, or don't buy one at all. Trust me, unless you're some sort of adonis, these things are not flattering. Having said that, if you do start to look good in your top you're either warped or you are turning into an Adonis, so perhaps you can see it as something to aim for?
Getting in and out of the top is quite a challenge, which can feel a bit like a yoga lesson. When it comes out of the box for its first airing, you're going to wonder whether you picked the wrong size, as there appears to be just about enough material for a slinky pair of knickers. But the material is much more stretchy than your average knickers (if you're not a British male you might not have your own knickers, in which case please refer to your significant other's underwear drawer). Even so, getting into the top can be quite embarrassing if you're caught at it, so I suggest you do this alone for the first time - whether wearing knickers or not.
Once on, the tops are very comfortable and although you can see all of your bells and whistles in horrific detail, at least your bells and whistles feel well supported. You might also see a small reduction in your beer belly as the compression technology does one of its jobs. I assume the fat goes round the back, or under your armpits or something but I haven't been able to find mine, and whenever I take the top off it's right back there again on my belly.
In use
After the exertion of getting the top on (or "the bloody stupid thing" as you'll be calling it), you'll probably be warm enough to claim you've already done your workout, and might expect to sweat like a baboon when you actually start doing some proper exercise, but not so. Because the material is so close to the skin, your sweat wicks away much more quickly and easily than a normal t-shirt or even a wicking base-layer would do. According to some researchers, this can help your body regulate its temperature and so improve your training or competitive performance. The science also suggests that the tightness and cut of the clothing helps your body circulate blood and sweet, sweet oxygen to your exhausted muscles and move away the lactic acid, which should help both your endurance and your recovery.
In first outing, you'll probably only notice the tightness of the top for a few minutes. After that it feels very comfortable and natural against your skin. If yours doesn't, perhaps you got the wrong size?
Getting the top off again is quite a challenge (my strategy is to bend forwards, reaching round to the back and rolling the top up towards my shoulders a little before pulling from the base up and over my head, taking the arms out at the end). If it's very damp from your workout it'll be tricky so be careful, and again it might be best to do this in private until you've tried it a few times and feel more capable!
In re-use
One thing you'll definitely notice about the top is that it doesn't smell after it's dried out. I don't know what it's made of, but it definitely doesn't pick up the man-smell that other exercise kit does. I've been able to wear it for 3 workouts without any noticeable whiff, which is amazing. This is great if you only have one top and don't have time to wash it before the next workout/run.
Summary
The Nike Pro Vent Tight compression top started out for me as an experiment but has now become a definite favourite. I use it for cycling, running and weight training and it works well for all three. It's great as an autumn-weather base-layer as it warms your body just enough but also helps with cooling when your pushing hard.
It keeps you nicely "squeezed in", which helps in the gyms-are-for-posers stakes, and the fact that it doesn't easily develop a sweaty smell means that you can pose for days on end without people thinking "looks nice but I wouldn't want to be in the same room as him".
I'd highly recommend the tops to you and I'm definitely going to try other compression clothing - shorts/tights especially - to see if they can help out with my training and recovery as much as this one has.
If you fancy trying one out for yourself, you can Buy a Nike Pro Vent Tight top from Amazon.co.uk
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