Undergarments 101

             Watch any sports game and all you see are the wide array of colors of the uniforms the athletes are wearing, but what nobody thinks about is what they are wearing underneath those uniforms. The undergarments that most athletes wear today aren’t just some random white cotton tank-tops, but technologically designed, sweat-wicking, padded compression tank-tops that benefit the athlete.

Nike Pro Combat padded compression
shorts, tank-top, & arm sleeve.

            The main type of undergarments I like to wear are compression shorts and compression tank-tops. One reason I wear undergarments is because I don’t like the scratchy feel of the jersey on my skin, so I wear the undergarments to act as a buffer between my skin and jersey. Now, some may ask, “Well won’t you get hot quicker and feel weighed down by wearing the extra layers of clothing?” and my response to that is no. When I buy undergarments, I make sure that they are thin, which allows them to be light weight and not hold in the heat my body is giving off.
            Personally I don’t wear the padded undergarment clothing, but there is always the option. I feel like you find athletes in more physical sports like football and basketball wearing the padded compression shorts and tank-tops to act as an extra layer of protection. Also another big trend in undergarment clothing lately has been the padded leggings and arm sleeves that you can see most basketball players wearing. The main purpose for the padded leggings and are sleeves are that they help prevent bruising and skin burns when athletes dive on the floor for a loose ball. Also they can help keep athlete’s muscles warm as they are compression, which helps prevents cramping.
           Wearing compression undergarments isn’t for everybody, but in my own experiences I have found them to be beneficial. With today’s sports technology you can find compression undergarments for all types of situations.  The first two places to check out would be Under Armour (as if their name doesn’t say that undergarment clothing is their specialty) and Nike’s Pro Combat line.

Image Courtesy of www.speedendurance.com