Dont know if its a myth or real but I’ve heard that tight clothing promotes muscle breakdown since its not needed to support normal tone or something like that (the tight fitting clothing takes over the role of keeping everything in place, buffering against gravity etc)
Is it true?
Edit: u/can_you_change_your_username phrases it better in terms of the reduction of workload on your muscles being associated with atrophy
There’s a difference between just tight clothing and support wear. A tight shirt, or even a light compression shirt, doesn’t meaningfully provide support so it won’t meaningfully reduce the workload of your muscles. Support wear (rigid joint braces, posture correcters, strong compression garments) do provide support which reduces the load on your muscles and can lead to atrophy.
There’s actually some evidence that light compression in some areas can improve muscle health. Another comment mentioned compression helping to reduce swelling and keep blood flowing during exercise. That’s primarily only going to be true for higher intensity workouts and makes much more difference in resistance exercises than cardio. There’s also a little bit of evidence that a shirt with light compression around the midsection improves posture. Compression in the midsection causes an unconscious reaction of standing up straighter and, over time, that may train the back muscles that are primarily responsible for posture to keep the body more upright.
Is there a name for the type of midsection compressing stuff that promotes better posture?
The effect was initially noticed in women who were wearing stomach shape wear like spanx. There are shaping tees and tanks now that also include some light shoulder support. Anything meant for stomach shaping should have that effect. You can search for shaping shirts or compression posture shirts and you should find several products. You want light compression, it should stretch enough that it doesn’t limit movement.
Also, the evidence isn’t strong for it right now. The studies on it are primarily industry sponsored and there aren’t a lot of them. Shapewear is generally safe so, for people without a medical cause for posture issues, it won’t hurt and it might help but it’s not something that I would put a lot of money into. If you want to improve posture some simple exercises can help.
I find it pretty hard to believe.
Ask a girl…
That was not disinclusive of this question
Sounds implausible
The worst they could do is starve oxygen to areas because it’s so tight it impedes circulation.
To say a shirt adds 50g of weight to your shoulders and that it’s tight enough around your arms to take off some of that weight. You’re not going to experience any meaningful change to your shoulders muscle mass.
I wear a compression top and socks when I work hard. The compression keeps the blood flowing through the tissues and prevents water retention. The blood being in the tissues results in more oxygenation, resulting in better muscle growth.
Absolutely preposterous.
