CEP review & giveaway!

I came home last weekend to find a wonderful surprise on my doorstep! My new hot pink CEP compression socks were here to try!

I originally heard about CEP socks through someone's blog (not sure who), but didn't really feel like I had the need for them at the time. Then my brother was developing some lower leg pain with training for his half marathon (I'm always his go to for injury fixing), and I thought I would look into it a little more for him.

The important thing for me to say here, is that I am a Physical Therapist. I have a doctorate degree, and I know how to use it! Evidence based practice was drilled into my head in school, which is why I am skeptical to believe a lot of gimmicks that are out there. When I went to the CEP website, there were no gimmicks. Much better, there was ACTUAL RESEARCH & medically based information! I love to see a product that instead of just saying it makes you run 5% faster (which research has shown with CEP by the way), but it actually had abstracts from the research articles and detailed information on why this was the case.

I think this video sums it up nicely, and if you want more information to back up their claims, check out the research articles they post on their site. I did. There are a few other things I want to point out. The first is how the CEP socks do what they do.  As a medical professional, I'm extremely impressed with how a medical company Medi, made the same compression tights that patients with circulation problems, blood clotting disorders, and vericose veins use, and adapted them to athletes for CEP. They are made with graduated compression, which pretty much means they are tighter around the ankle and slightly looser around the calf. This prevents blood pooling in the lower leg, and assists with the flow of blood back up to the heart to get re-oxygenated. Also, the amount of pressure within the socks, has been shown to be effective at dilating arterial walls, which means newly oxygenated blood is better able to flow through your lower leg. This means less cramping and pain!

When I first found out about these socks, I wondered when I was supposed to wear them? While running? Recovering? I found my answer on their website, pretty much I could wear them all the time. CEP recommends wearing them for training, racing & recovery:

• Training - with increased blood flow to the legs you can work harder & maximize your training.
• Racing- CEP socks can take 5-10 minutes or 5% off your time, which is backed up by research!
• Recovery- The graduated compression prevents pooling of blood, and swelling, and increases oxygen levels to decrease muscle fatigue

I took them out on my 9 miler today, which I already knew was going to be a slow pace, I wasn't looking for a CEP time boost today. My right calf was a little crampy to start with, but it worked itself out around mile 1. They kept me warm and comfortable for the entire run. I love the smoothness on the interior, and of course the HOT pink color! After my run, I showered and put the socks back on to help with recovery. Last week I had a tough time getting around after my 8 miles, today has been a piece of cake. So far I LOVE them, even though I've only been able to use them once, and I LOVE that this is a company that uses medicine and research to help athletes perform better. Now, YOU have a chance to experience it for yourself!

How to win!

8 chances possible to win

make sure to post a separate comment for each entry

1. Mandatory- be or become a follower of my blog

2. Mandatory - visit CEP HERE & post what you would want if you won

3. "Like" Running to Health on facebook

4. Join CEP compression sportswear on facebook

5. Tell me what your favorite feature of CEP socks are

6. Post about this giveaway on your blog

7. Post about this giveaway to facebook or twitter (1 entry for each)

Entries can be made until November 3rd, and I'll post the winner shortly after!

Good luck!