RUNNING PERFORMANCE WHILE WEARING A HEAT DISSIPATING COMPRESSION GARMENT IN MALE RECREATIONAL RUNNERS

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a heat dissipating compression garment (CG) during a running performance test. Ten male recreational runners (mean +/- SD: age 23 +/- 3 years; (V) over dotO(2)max 55.8 +/- 4.8 ml.kg(-1).min(-1)) completed 2 identical sessions wearing either CG or conventional t-shirt (CON). Each trial included a 45-minute run at 60% of the peak treadmill speed (PTS) followed by a time to exhaustion (TTE) run at 80% of the PTS and a 10-minute recovery period. During the tests, thermoregulatory and cardiovascular responses were monitored. Participants wearing the CG displayed an impaired running performance (508 +/- 281 vs. 580 +/- 314 seconds, p = 0.046; effect size [ES] = 0.24). In addition, a higher respiratory exchange ratio (1.06 +/- 0.04 vs. 1.02 +/- 0.07, p = 0.01; ES = 0.70) was observed at TTE when wearing the CG in comparison to CON. Changes in core temperature did not differ between garments after the 45-minute run (p = 0.96; ES = 0.03) or TTE (1.97 +/- 0.32 vs. 1.98 +/- 0.388 C; p = 0.93; ES = 0.02) for CG and CON, respectively. During recovery, significantly higher heart rate and blood lactate values were observed when wearing CG (p <= 0.05). These findings suggest that the use of a heat dissipating CG may not improve running performance in male recreational runners during a running performance test to exhaustion.