Base layers for me have always been something that you see athletes wearing (or my brother when it’s really cold outside and he’s playing football…) so I’ve never really given them much thought.

Until now…

I was invited along to a special boxing session at my new favourite place, Moreno Boxing, to try out some new compression base layers from the guys at Glenmuir.

First impressions were that they were really soft and silky, very light to wear and totally not restrictive which I always thought base layers would be. Although they are clearly designed to be worn underneath other workout gear because OMG VPL.

The session started with some skipping, dynamic stretches and then we got stuck into some technique practice with footwork, boxing stance and punching.

Then in partners we practiced responding to other people’s movements by played some tag, trying to tap the other person on the shoulder which is a pretty tough cardio workout as well as testing out our footwork. At this stage the sweat started to appear and I was impressed with how comfortable the base layers were as they kept me dry.

We finished up by throwing some combinations in pairs, practicing all of the moves that we’d learned in the session. My only complaint was that at this point the top started to ride up slightly and because I had boxing gloves on I couldn’t pull it down!

The part of compression base layers I’m really interested in is how they can help with recovery by increasing blood flow to the area through an increase in pressure on the skin. They can also help with decreasing DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and to be honest, anything that can get me out of bed the day after a workout without wincing is good with me!

Watch this space as I’ll be testing the clothing in my triathlon training to see how it helps with recovery in tired muscles…

Disclaimer: I was given the Glenmuir base layers by the very lovely people at Trace Publicity but all of these views are my own