In order to be elite, athletes must focus on training, nutrition, and having the best possible equipment to help them perform at a high level. These three areas are constantly evolving and allowing athletes to train harder, eat better, and perform at a higher level. But the one area that seems to have stayed the same over the years is recovery. Year after year, athletes get into a cold tub after games and sit for hours in order to help their bodies recover faster. But NormaTec is trying to update this recovery process.
NormaTec, located just outside of Boston is a compression company that originally was founded to help people with poor circulation maximize their blood flow. As the product evolved, NormaTec CEO Gilad Jacobs realized that he could use this same idea to help athletes maximize their recovery time and stay fresh.
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For athletes, using compression to help speed recovery is something that has always been used, but it wasn’t until 2008 when NormaTec really started to provide technology to make compression the go-to technique for speedy recovery. Jacobs started the use of NormaTec for athletes by visiting college campuses and showcasing the NormaTec recovery systems to athletic trainers and showing them exactly what it could do for their student-athletes. At first the idea of a compression technology wasn’t something too many of the trainers were interested in, but when they received feedback from their athletes it was clear that NormaTec was onto something that could change the way that elite athletes recovered.
The recently launched third-generation NormaTec Pulse Recovery Systems are compression devices designed for recovery and rehab. The recovery system is an around the clock massage therapist that allows athletes to recover wherever and whenever is convenient for them. The battery operated device is the best way for athletes and trainers to get a personalized massaging pattern.
It uses three techniques to maximize athlete recovery. The first technique is pulsing, NormaTec’s Sequential Pulse Technology mimics the muscle pump of the legs and arms, enhancing the movement of fluid and metabolites out of the limbs after an intense workout. The second technique is gradients, NormaTec uses hold pressures to keep fluids from being forced the wrong direction, this allows the system to deliver maximum pressure in every zone. The third and final technique is distal release which releases hold pressures once they are no longer needed to prevent backflow. By releasing hold pressure in each zone as soon as possible, each portion of the limb gains maximal rest time without a significant pause between compression cycles.
The goal for NormaTec is to flush out the bad and get the good in, all while allowing the athlete to recover in a comfortable setting. Many athletes not only use NormaTec for recovery, but also during their pre-game routine to help prepare their bodies for the upcoming games. The idea that NormaTec can help athletes stay fresh for game day helped them come up with their motto “Fresh Legs Faster”.
With the technology in NormaTec getting better and better, the company has earned the opportunity to work with some of the best athletes and sports teams in the world. LeBron James has posted photos multiple times over the years on social media showing himself using the NormaTec Recovery systems both pre-game and post-game. Gaining notoriety from some of the world’s greatest athletes has helped NormaTec become present in every locker room in the NBA.
In 2015, NormaTec became the official recovery room for its hometown Boston Celtics. The Celtics now use NormaTec Recovery Systems to help their players stay fresh on the court and maximize their performance. NormaTec has also made their way into NFL locker rooms as well, becoming the official recovery room for the St. Louis Rams. Although the Rams are the only team to have an official NormaTec Recovery Room, many other teams use NormaTec systems. According to Jacobs, an undisclosed NFL team recently purchased a NormaTec Recovery System unit for every player on their active roster, practice squad, and injured reserve. NormaTec has also worked with the United States Olympic Committee to provide Olympic athletes with recovery systems.
NormaTec isn’t only for professional athletes, they are the official recovery system of Ironman competitions and also work with Crossfit gyms throughout the country to help every day athletes recover.
“Our mission is to constantly push the envelope of how athletes perform at their best, and make sure that we have the technology to help them do so,” said Jacobs when asked the ultimate objective for NormaTec. “The goal is the fundamentally change how athletes approach their overall health and recovery.”