COMPEX muscle stimulators

POGATA said:

So, we can conclude that he`s not an idiot! 🙄

no idea. has he ever done an IQ test or some other measure of intelligence?

whatever, i don't recall that he's a sports scientist.

ric

POGATA said:

No, we conclude that he thinks using a COMPEX muscle stimulator is beneficial to his cycling performance!

Or at lest he did in 2003. Was he coached by Lothar Heinrich back then?

ric_stern/RST said:

I promise i'm not trying to upset you... :-)

However, lactate completely disperses in about 60-minutes if you do *nothing*. Probably goes a little quicker if you pedal around easy after a race or hard session.

Ric

Now, having read many of your excellent posts, I definitely expected more from you than that!

Lactic acid is gone in at most, 90 minutes, I agree. But a good 15-minute cool-down will clear lactic acid a whole lot quicker than "a little quicker"! And that's everything when it comes to recovery after a workout! You want to clear acids (including lactic acid) faster by doing the cool-down to avoid DOMS.

These electric muscle stimulators that are sold over-the-counter are often bogus. The TYPE of current used tells us what use there may be. Interferential current, microcurrent, Russian stimulation are all very different and are used for different purposes clinically. These modalities are used for rehabilitation purposes and rarely for healthy individuals (exception Russian current). These companies often provide little, if any, explanation of what type of current is used. Several of these companies are prohibited from doing business in the United States because of false advertising.

zakeen said:

Its Close! if not better! But the best thing about the compex is, that you can control the intensity very easly, as to what you want and it slow increase, ever so slowly!

I always bring it along in a stage race, that way I can finish a race, to the hotel shower and have a compex massage striaght away, there is a que for a real one!

However the only problem with a compex is that it only works on one muscel group at a time! Which takes a while! I use to go for big rides and then use the compex and then just fall asleep!!!! in total relaxation(is that a word??)

No f-ing way!

You must work for the company that sells that stuff.

Post-race massage likely is too late to have any lactic acid to clear! But post-race massage absolutely helps recovery. No question about it. It may clear acid from muscles, but certainly not lactic acid. Myofascial release therapy and deep tissue work also provide flexibility that normal stretching cannot. There are knots within muscles a.k.a. "trigger points", and stretching will not likely remove these. But massage will. A foam roller will as well. The benefits of massage have not been fully explored through research, but absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence. Massage works better than placebo, and for recovery purposes, works infinitely better than muscle stim.