Tommie Copper Compression Sleeve Review

Whether it's aero bars, wetsuits with special coatings, low friction tires, or body hugging skin suits, triathletes are always looking for that magic bullet that will make them faster during the race, and recover faster after the race. Some of these technological advances are a lot easier to prove than others: For example, You can put a rider on a bike in a wind tunnel, adjust their position, and see the difference in how much wind resistance they generate. But how do you measure how someone feels when they're racing or how much they've recovered 3 days after a race?

Therapeutic Compression (essentially wearing a garment that applies either uniform or graduated pressure against sections of the body) has been studied for years in regards to how it helps both healthy and unhealthy individuals deal with conditions from varicose veins to recovery after exercise. It's been used therapeutically long before it was adopted as a potential performance or recovery enhancer for endurance athletes. Most studies agree that compression garments, especially graduated compression, at minimum reduces DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Sorness) which is where that day-after-the-race achy feeling comes from.

Another very popular, albeit less scientifically proven therapy, is copper therapy. Copper deficiency is one of the known causes of osteoarthritis, and it's been shown in studies of athletes that copper in the blood decreases during exercise and is restored with rest. It has been proven in animals that oral copper intake can reduce joint damage progression, but what hasn't been proven beyond anecdotal evidence is if copper absorbed through the skin from contact (ie the copper bracelet), has a positive effect for the wearer. Studies have provided mixed results, with most scientists believing any improvements are attributed to placebo effect. That hasn't stopped people from buying and wearing them and many people swear by copper therapy.

It was with this information in hand that I took on the task of reviewing a Tommie Copper calf compression sleeve. I wanted to see how it worked, what it felt like, and how it stacked up against some competition. I requested a sample from Cassie, their Director of Communication, and she was more than happy to oblige. I received the sleeve a little less than a week ago and have been able to give it a pretty thorough work over.

The first thing I noticed about the Tommie Copper calf sleeve was how light it is. If you've ever worn warm weather UnderArmor, or a sweat wicking T-shirt, it's the same thickness of material as one of those. Further, it shimmers a bit in the light, which might be the proprietary fabric weave with the copper. Finally, it users grippers (like in the bottom of triathlon or bike shorts) in order to hold position on the calf and a flat stitched seam runs up the back of the sleeve; but I'll get to that more in a bit.

While many of the compression therapy companies market their products towards recovery, I've seen an increasing number of athletes wearing these products during races as well. I wanted to understand what difference I might feel wearing the sleeve during training. I wore the sleeve for a 31 mile training ride my wife and I completed this past Sunday. It's an out and back ride, so when we rested at the turnaround, I switched which leg the sleeve was on. I can definitely say that the leg I wore the sleeve on for the first half of the ride felt fresher for the second half than the leg that didn't have it. I repeated this test with a couple of short runs, and found the same results.

No, that's not a hobbit's foot

That left me with a couple of questions: was it the compression, the copper, or both that made my leg feel better? So my next step was to put the Tommie Copper sleeve up against the competition. I got a pair of graduated recovery socks from The Recovery Sock for Christmas. I've primarily worn them after longer workouts, and had only worn them for one short workout prior to getting the Tommie Copper sleeve. Over the past few days I have worn the Tommie Copper sleeve on one leg and a Recovery Sock on the other leg during multiple of the same intensity and distance. And I did one run without either to compare how I felt running with and without them.

What I found is that while the Tommie Copper sleeve and The Recovery Sock both provided additional comfort during runs, keeping my legs fresher, I felt The Recovery Sock did a slightly better job, mostly because it also provides compression around the ankle and foot where the Tommie Copper sleeve stops at the lower leg. I will say the Tommie Copper sleeve did feel lighter to wear and was far more breathable for wearing during exercise. While it is only available in black, the Tommie Copper sleeve is definitely the better choice than my recovery socks for warm weather exercise. Tommie Copper does offer an ankle sleeve, at an additional cost.

The primary purpose of recovery gear is of course recovery and I followed the same process of switching legs with the products and wearing each independently over the past few days following workouts. Recovery has definitely been easier because I've been wearing the compression gear during exercise. Wearing the items around the house, there's no doubt the Tommie Copper sleeve has an advantage; it's so light I could easily forget it's even on. The Recovery Sock is very tight (as it should be), and because it doesn't breathe it's probably better for cold nights after a hard workout. Because of this, you can wear the TC sleeve for a longer  period of time comfortably.

The red you see is the tablecloth, the shiny stuff appears to be the copper

There are two problems I have with the Tommie Copper sleeve, first of which being that the sleeve I was sent developed a hole right on the rear seam, about halfway up. It appears that a stitch broke leading to a manufacturing defect that has grown to a hole about the size of half a penny. It doesn't seem to be getting larger, and continues to function well. My wife noticed it well before I did. When I mentioned the hole to Cassie, she informed me that Tommie Copper has a 30 day refund or exchange policy from receipt of your order. They've sent me a replacement sleeve which I will be sure to report on the durability of at a later date.

Secondly, and more importantly, I can't confirm that having copper in it has made the TC calf sleeve more effective than other compression gear without it. The company's motto is "it just works", which I do agree with; it does make my leg feel better from wearing it during and after exercise. However, the primary differentiator for the product is the copper, and I'm just not sure it had any additional effect. I will say that at just $19.99 per sleeve, the price of these sleeves may also serve as a differentiator. Zoot's CompressRX calf sleeves retail for $59.95, nearly $20 more than a pair of Tommie Cooper sleeves. The Recovery Sock are $5 less than the TC sleeve per pair, by comparison.

In conclusion, while the jury is still out on whether or not the copper makes a difference, it's certainly a good monetary value in compression sleeves, and I was overall pretty happy with how the Tommie Copper sleeve worked.

Does this ever happen to you?

So, I've been cruising along with my training, and apart from the occasional small bout of soreness, everything has been going very well. My swimming is as good as it's ever been; plus it's only April, and get to take a swim clinic to work on skills this Saturday. We're just starting to ramp up outdoor bike fitness, but the sun has been shining, we got in a long ride on Saturday, and other than getting comfortable in the saddle for longer periods of time, We'll be biking along at race pace in no time.

But the running; that's a different story. I've been running 3 days a week in accordance with my Couch to 5k training plan, and I have been making some progress. But every time I move on to the next week in the plan, I feel like I'm struggling desperately just to finish the run, and I'm always REALLY slow for the last running segment of the workout. Last night was no different. Now on week 5, I'm doing 1.5 miles in 21 minutes with 15 minutes of going as fast a jog/run as I can sustain, and 6 minutes of super slow recovery walk. I mean so slow, if you could stand still and walk at the same time, that's what my recovery walks are like.

Do any of you really struggle with one of the triathlon disciplines? I read all the time on daily mile about my friends who run like cheetahs for miles and miles and I get to regularly watch my wife turn in sub-8 minute miles like it's walking from one side of a room to another. It's REALLY frustrating that I still struggle so much with running. I'm aware part of those struggles are tied to my weight, and last night was just a bad day. After 2 weeks of very strong portion control and food choices, we went to dinner last night and I got a salad and water for dinner. It was a big salad, but not of say Cheesecake Factory proportions. Somehow, making all good choices for a day, I was STILL up four pounds on the day. Yes, I drank a decent amount of fluids (probably 80 ounces total), but it just seems insane that I would fluctuate that much.

I'm not downtrodden or feeling like I'm not making progress, because I'm having non-scale victories one right after the other (unless I'm running), but man, yesterday was just a brutal day for my mental state regarding my forward path. I guess if it was easy, America wouldn't be filled with obese people who are slowly dying mostly because of what they eat.

Slooooooooooooooow

I have a stomach bug today, so I'm sitting at home as I type this. It always kinds of sucks to follow up an amazing weekend with a day on the couch. And we really did have a fantastic weekend. It started with my having Friday off as a vacation day, and going for an early morning ride with the team. We have some great teammates and it was nice to get a ride in with them. I didn't bring my run shoes because I didn't think I was ready for a brick that morning, but sitting in the cold while everyone else ran made me wish I'd been a bit more adventurous. It wound up being around 11 miles on the bike, and we had a great time. Plus, I finally saw upper Mystic lake where I'll be doing some swim training this summer.

Saturday, we hit the pool at exactly the wrong time; between all the families there for swim class, and the folks taking advantage of the holiday weekend it was simply too busy to get in the workout we had planned at the level we wanted. So we finished 1000 yards and cut out. Another sub-30 minute 1k swim is definitely very encouraging, especially with Patriot coming up so soon. We'll really start cranking up the swim volume this week and pick it up again once Season Opener is done.

Sunday was only the second really nice day we've had all year. It was low-60's and sunny, and Rach and I took full advantage. It was our second Easter Sunday as a married couple and we had plans for a nice meal highlighted by brown sugar hams and all the fixins'. But we had to earn that meal with a good hard ride.

For our first long outdoor ride of the season, I was pretty happy with how well we managed, considering it was pretty windy and a lot more distance than what I did Friday. The only thing I didn't like is that it was SLOOOOOOOOOOOW. I guess it isn't unexpected for the first ride to feel that slow; and I'm sure the wind didn't help. I "burnt my matches" pulling Rach through the winds along the river before we turned north towards the Minuteman trail. With the Minuteman being a long false flat (uphill) on the way out, at one point I had to downshift to a low gear and just cruise to rest the legs. I worked hard for most of the ride out though, and we took it somewhat easier on the way back. It's such a beautiful place to ride and there were tons of families out and we even saw 4 couples on tandem bikes!

Easter dinner was great and we really went to town. The best part though is with all the exercise and only the one big meal all week, I am now down almost 10 pounds over the past 2 weeks!

The "You don't look like a marathoner" discussion continues

I want to thank everyone for their feedback on the "You don't look like a marathoner" topic from Tuesday. I like reading what you folks think about some of these topics, because  I almost always think "I wonder if it's just me that feels like this?", and it usually turns out that it's not. I got a response last night from George, (who read the site upon notice from his wife Kacie) that I'd like to share with you here:

My wife alerted me to your post. I give you credit for biting your tongue and for trying to understand why she might have said it (i.e. "this is probably the first race she's ever been around . . ."). 

I thought of your blog when I read Ted King's blog today. Ted's a professional cyclist on one of the best teams in the world. He's a two-time Giro d'Italia finisher. He's from NH, and he was in town (taking a break from his living/training/racing in Europe) for the Boston Marathon. In his blog today, reflecting on what he saw at Boston, Ted wrote, "The diversity of runners is phenomenal – all ages, all body types, all with a different reason or story for doing the race." 

Undoubtedly, Ted is in the top 1% of athletes on the planet, but to him, the fact that not everyone looks like him is a GOOD thing. And I think that it takes an athlete to understand this. The lady at the finish line had never actually crossed a finish line, and because of that, I don't think she gets it.

I am fortunate enough to have met Ted King at an event held at Landry's Bike Shop just down the road from my house last fall on weekend Rach was away with the hockey team. He's a good guy, and that's where I disagree slightly with what George had to say. I don't think it takes an athlete to understand that different people do things for different reasons and with different goals. Ted sees this because he's a good guy, not because he's an athlete. Because I've met plenty of athletes who will probably never understand that. It only takes a visit over to SlowTwitch to know there's a reason why triathletes are sometimes seen as Type A "jerks" who think if you're not fast, and don't look almost too thin, you aren't one of them. (Note: I hang out over there fairly regularly and there are plenty of nice people there, but there are absolutely some prime examples

Instead, I think it's about people's nature and experience. I'm making a lot of assumptions about the lady who said what she said to me, and frankly I've been trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she meant it the way it sounded, the way some of the folks at SlowTwitch say it. Maybe though, she's the kind of person whose only exposure to running has been a grandson or daughters track meets and what she has seen on TV, which is almost always the lead pack of uber-athletes. Maybe this lady is a perfectly nice person, but she has a very narrow world view.

Maybe that world view is because of her experiences, and maybe it's because that's what she chooses it to be. The problem is that it's a still too common frame of mind. No, It's not 100% OK to be fat; it's unhealthy, it puts a fiscal burden on our health care system, and an emotional burden on friends and loved ones. But for those of us working to be healthier and stronger and weigh less, being fat doesn't take away the fact that we are athletes.

Plus, no matter what I look like, I will be a marathoner come 9/11.

I like charts and graphs

This past weekend my buddy Dan and I went on our annual gambling trip. It's the last weekend of fun, food, and debauchery before triathlon season heats up. Dan and I had a great time, I won some money, and we went for a fantastic hike on what is marked as a "dangerous/extreme" hiking trail. I figured they were probably overstating, but it turns out they were right, this hike was fairly extreme with some very steep climbs, especially for a couple guys who aren't exactly mountaineers.

Despite the fact that I had on the wrong shoes and that we were high enough that the hawks were circling at eye level, we had a great time doing it. Doesn't really apply as training, but sometimes just doing physical activity is it's own reward. I'll post some pictures once Dan gets them to me. 

I ran and biked on Monday and last night i hit the pool for a solid workout. My original goal was to see where I was for my 1/4 mile swim, because that's what is on tap for Season Opener. Most of my swims lately have been the tail end of a two-a-day, so having the pool as my only workout was going to give me the best gauge of fitness I've had in a mile. Let's just say I was happy with how it came out:

That's right, I'm a badass

So I did a 400 swim in 9:38. The best part? I wasn't even close to going all out. I find there's a very big difference between me at 100% effort and me just swimming strong an even pace. Going all out, I could drop the first 50 yard time by 15 or so seconds, but I'd be a good bit slower on the second 50, and maybe 30 or more seconds slower for the full 400. Doing it as I did last night, I got a time I was happy with, without strong pushoffs and I had plenty of energy left.

When I finished the 400, I set my sights on a mile, which I pulled off 49 minutes, even with a little rest between intervals (1x400, 1x500, 1x600 1x200), I decided to see if I could fit the full Half-IM swim inside an hour, and I managed to, just barely at 57:50. Definitely some major progress.

Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned it, but I didn't gain any weight on my casino trip (even though there were some pizza & cheeseburgers involved). In fact, I've lost weight week over week for the past couple weeks now. It's been a pound here or a half-pound there, but it's been significant forward progress especially with the first race of the season closing in.

Notes:

- Got a lot of positive feedback on yesterdays post both here and on Facebook. Thanks so much for the kind words, and sharing your thoughts. I love comments on my posts, so feel free to share, or ask questions, or tell me I'm wrong awesome... whatever.