Good Enough For MJ, Good Enough For Me

It was nearly impossible for an 8-year-old boy in the summer of 1992 to not idolize Michael Jordan. Especially if that 8-year-old boy lived a mere hour and a half from the United Center where the Chicago Bulls had recently pulled off their world famous “3-Peat”. So, when the autographed picture from number 23 showed up in the mail, (remember the days before the internet?) it was studied for hours. It was a simple photo. Jordan in the locker room after a practice, looking into camera, and signed with an indecipherable scribble.

The actual photo is in the attic of my mom's house. This will have to do. Sorry.

But, curiously, he seemed to be wearing 2 pairs of shorts at once in the photo. Asking my parents why, they couldn't come up with an answer that would satisfy the mind of a child. It would take years before I could comprehend why.

Showing off the Secret Weapon... Compression Shorts

In almost every commercial you see for a fitness product, there's a quick-cut montage of a person training in extremely tight work-out clothing. Guys in shirts so tight they have six-pack abs visible through their shirts running up the stairs of the empty arena. Women in yoga pants gracefully suffering through the most strenuous poses, showing off their curves. Glamour shots of muscles working underneath impossibly tight exercise clothes.

Thinking back to my MJ autograph, I considered clothing like that to be merely for the ultra-serious athletes, and for those with ample bank accounts. I was more of a gym shorts and cotton t-shirt kinda guy. Then, (Shameless self-promotion coming) I found Proozy.com and with it the glorious employee discount on such products. I wanted to experience all that serious fitness clothing had to offer. Compression t-shirts, shorts, pants, and even sleeves.

Quick sidebar for the benefits of compression gear:

-          They help to keep muscles warm, even during brief resting periods to prevent muscle strain.

-          The materials they are frequently made of help to wick away moisture to prevent chafing

-          They help to stabilize joints

The other thing that no one ever mentions is how they make you feel. When you're wearing compression clothes, you can't help but keep  better posture and even keep moving in little steps or rolling on the balls of your feet. It's a constant reminder of the athlete you are. No matter how gawky you may or may not look.

 Go ahead and get this shirt for yourself: Here

Or any kind of compression gear from Proozy: Here