Fight Hub TV Gear Review: Zensah short sleeve compression shirt

From time to time we like to go ahead and test out the newest in training and performance gear for you fight fans to be better informed of what is out there. We were lucky enough to have Zensah, the makers of compression equipment reach out to us. Their product portfolio has a wide array of products ranging from compression shirts and shorts, to sleeves and socks. Though we would of loved to review the socks, they sent over their bread and butter product, the Zensah short sleeve compression shirt.

Coming in at a reasonable price of $39.99, the shirt is marketed as “the most technologically advanced compression shirt.” Some neat features to add to that claim is the shirt naturally blocks odor for you less hygienic people as well as UV rays. The highly advanced mositure-wicking keeps you cool and dry and we can attest to this one hundred percent. Plus, you can say your pretty high class wearing a compression shirt that is made in good ole Italia! Hey, you need some sort of conversation starter with that certain person you check out at the gym!

So after a week of testing and trying the compression shirt, we bring to you our review and trust us, if you get this shirt, you wont be dissapointed!

Durability: We used the Zensah compression shirt for a week in a multitude of training situations. The problem that we have run into with a lot of compression shirts is that after a day or two of use, they tend to smell pretty bad and we purposely wanted to see how well it absorbed water. We cross trained in a multitude of things such as cardio work (running in the mountains) to weight lifting to strenuous boxing and MMA training over the course of the week and a half. The shirt performed beyond our expectations as it felt like we did not sweat at all during our run and weight-lifting circuits. Even in cardio intensive boxing training the shirt held up well, absorbing water and making it seem we had only worked out for a total of ten minutes. The claim of naturally blocking odor is true as well. The short did not produce any type of odor til about the 5th day of training, which of course is when we finally washed the shirt. It was a great perk to have as washing compression shirts and rash guards everyday can be annoying. Past the first week we used the compression shirt a few more times after the first wash and it felt like it was still brand new. It made us very happy as we have noticed with a few compression shirts that over time lose their elasticity.

Comfort: The compression shirt feels like you are putting on a new layer of skin. It molds very well to any body type. It molds so much so that the shape of my love handles were clearly visible with it on! All jokes aside you do feel your muscles compressed and tight, more so on your core area. This of course is a good thing for core based workouts as we noticed it helped keep things a bit more tighter when doing planks.

During Workouts: The one big thing that stuck out for us using the compression shirt during workouts is how well the shirt traps sweat and moisture. We pushed hard on a few days during workouts, where a drenched shirt is the norm. When everything was said and done though, the shirt felt moderately moist. It was really an eye opening thing! It looked as if I had not been in a strenuous workout. As far as road work goes we noticed during sprints that our upper body was a tad bit more fluid.

Post Workouts: One thing that we really love about this compression shirt is the ability to trap heat. With the cold weather it is impossible to not feel cold when stepping outside of a gym. The first time we stepped out in the cold it felt as if an extra layer of clothes were on us! Our fight correspondent Marcos Villegas is notoriously known as getting cold in 65 degree weather. He noted to us that the first time he stepped out of the gym with the shirt on after a workout, it felt like he had a light sweater on. It certainly is a feature that sets this product apart from others. When removing the shirt after a workout we are not going to lie, it was difficult at first. Though the feeling after mimicked in many ways how it feels when you come out of a spa. Muscles felt loose and relaxed, though it did not not take away the soreness the day after. Hey we can only wish right?

Overall: Three days deep in using the product we had already formulated a general consensus on Zensah’s compression shirt. Having been thru countless rash guards and compression shirts over the course of 3 years due to grappling and such, we can say with confidence this is the single most best compression shirt we have laid our hands on to date. We were blown away at the ability of the product to retain water and moisture. The simple fact of having natural odor blockers in the products fabric was a nice touch as it is annoying with other compression shirts how quickly they stink up. The biggest thing for us though was the ability of the shirt to retain body heat when outside in the cold. Having finished an hour long boxing workout and stepping out into 40 degree weather felt completely different from previous times. It honestly felt as if my core was still in the gym with no chills happening at all. All in all, the Zensah compression shirt is a great training tool that can be used by anyone ranging from professional athletes to your normal day person just trying to get a extra edge in their workouts.

For more information on Zensah and their lines of products please visit www.zensah.com. The Zensah compression shirt reviewed is priced at $39.99