MXA TEAM TESTED: RECOVERY PUMP COMPRESSION THERAPY SYSTEM

WHAT IS IT? The RecoveryPump is a compression therapy system that aids in warmup and recovery. It acts like a giant blood-pressure cuff for your legs and arms.

WHAT’S IT COST? $1485.00 (boots and pump), $350.00 (additional for single arm).

CONTACT? www.recoverypump.com or (855) 723-7867.

WHAT STANDS OUT? Here’s a list of things that stand out with the RecoveryPump boots and arm.

(1) Construction. The RecoveryPump is a “medical-grade, sequential, intermittent pneumatic compression device.” The pump only has three controls. (1) The on/off switch. (2) An adjustable pressure control that can be adjusted from 20mmHg to 80mmHg. (3) A pause setting that allows you to adjust how long the system stays deflated between cycles. The boots and arm have a zipper from top to bottom, making entry and exit a breeze. They also have color-coded inlets that connect to the four hoses that supply the air, making installation a no-brainer.

(2) What it does. A massaging action squeezes four air-filled chambers, starting from the foot and hand, and then systematically filling to the last chamber at the hip and chest. The RecoveryPump arm and boots deflate after 30 seconds, allowing blood to flow freely. The repeating cycle forces the body to evacuate the metabolic waste that causes sore muscles.

(3) Pre-training. Before training, we used the RecoveryPump for 15 minutes to get blood moving and to dilate the vascular system. The effect is very similar to a warm-up jog, but can be done at rest without wasting valuable energy. We set the pressure at 60mmHg and kept the pause setting at 10 seconds (unless there was a tingling sensation, then we raised it to 30 seconds to allow more time to get blood back into the limbs).

(4) Post-training. We tried numerous settings and felt that 45 minutes was the magic number. Again, we kept the pause setting short (at around 10 seconds).

(5) Performance. As soon as we zipped up and flipped the switch on, we felt like we were getting a massage. After extra-hard training days, the benefits were more noticeable. We felt much more relaxed. It is hard to measure the percentage of recovery-time improvement, but it made a dramatic difference. The wrecking crew couldn’t wait to put the system on after a hard day’s training.

(6) Sizes. The RecoveryPump comes in boot sizes from extra short (5 foot 3 and under) to extra long (6 foot 4 and above). The arm is one size fits all.

WHAT’S THE SQUAWK? Price and price alone.

For a serious racer or bucks-up factory star, the RecoveryPump system is worth every penny.