RETAIL THERAPY High-Tech Recovery

This gadget works magic on aching calves, and it’s not just for serious athletes.

- CHRISTIE CALUCCHIA

My goal when training for my first marathon was to get to race day without injury. I stepped up my warm-up and cool-down routines: I did resistance exercises, stretched more, and used Hyperice Normatec Go air compression sleeves for calf massages. They helped me snap back after long runs.

A type of recovery tool, air compression devices "use air to create a squeezing effect on limbs to assist with circulation," says Paul Schroeder, a physical therapist who is a spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association and founder of Fast Track Physio. They feel similar to a blood pressure monitor, but, in the case of the Normatec Go sleeves, squeeze and release the calves.