Thanks again goes to Full Stride for asking me to review a product for them. Having already reviewed the Skins DNAmic Men’s Compression Running Tights, I was really looking forward to trying out the new K-PROPRIUM range.
The SKINS website states that Proprioception is the unconscious perception of motion and spacial awareness. It’s the body’s ability to sense movement within joints and joint position so we know where our limbs are in space without having to look. Proprioception can be influenced by external stimuli and has been shown to be most effective during periods of muscle fatigue in controlling muscle action and joint alignment.
The K-PROPRIUM compression tights have strategically placed laminar bands embedded into the tights that help stimulate the muscles that are most used for running jumping and rotating. This enhancing a persons proprioception enabling them to run longer, faster and stronger especially when fatigued and will help reduce the risk of injury due to the person being able to maintain effective movement patterns.
Here’s a video I found online…
So that’s the science behind the tights covered, so how do they actually perform?
The first challenge was actually getting them on! SKINS recommend rolling them up and putting them on like a pair of tights, which I did find was the easiest way to get them on. Once on they felt incredibly supportive and made me feel like a professional athlete.
Firstly just like in my last review the K-PROPRIUM tights are quite striking and look really stylish with a grey fish scale type pattern running up both legs.
Similar to the DNAmic range the tights are very lightweight and once on they really feel as though they are giving your legs and muscles support. I felt this especially around the hamstrings and quadriceps. Only negative again was that the tights had no pockets, which I think would be of advantage to runners so that they can keep something like a car key or a parkrun barcode secure whilst running.
I’ve only been wearing the K-PROPRIUM tights for a week and I’m going to review them against the last pair I tried which were the DNAmic range. They feel slightly thinner than the DNAmic range so suspect they would be ideal to use all year round. Whilst running the tights felt brilliant, gave me loads of support (more than the DNAmic range) and in a non-restrictive way and are suitable for a wide range of sessions from long runs to road runs to trail runs right through to sprint training. In fact, during the sprint training I did on the track I actually felt as though the tights did aid performance, not sure if they actually did but I sure felt as though I was running quicker whilst wearing the tights!
Again I decided to also try the tights as a recovery aid too to see if they helped to reduce the effects of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which I normally suffer a little bit with after a long run. I decided to have a bath and put the tights back on to see what if they would have any impact. The next day my legs felt great and no DOMS! Overall I did feel as though the tights did aid both performance and recovery more so than the DNAmic range, which I reviewed before for Full Stride.
Only negative like I pointed out in my last review is that they don’t have a little side or back pocket, as for me this would be a welcome addition. Overall I think the SKINS tights and the technology behind them are great piece of kit for any runner.
*Disclaimer: This was a collaborative post with SKINS and I was given the running tights in order to give an honest review. All words and opinions are my own.
Having been really active since an early age and throughout my professional career working as a gym instructor, personal trainer and exercise rehabilitation instructor 2011 proved to be a bit of a fitness turning point for me.
Playing Sunday league football was becoming a battle against injuries rather than for enjoyment due to previously suffering two bad dislocations of my right knee, so I made the hard decision to pack in playing and take up another activity which would allow me to stay fit but without the constant worry of getting regular injuries. The answer was to take up running!
