Our Total Guide To The Very Best Compression Shirts

Tesla’s Baselayer short sleeve T-shirt promotes recovery after workouts and helps to control blood flow while alleviating soreness.

Safeguarding your skin from harmful UV rays, this compression shirts offer you 99% with its UPF 50+ protection factor.

Complete with a deodorising function, this vest repels both dirt and odors after a hard run or gym session.

It's recommended that you order this vest one size bigger than your regular size.

Enhanced with a moisture sensing, quick time dry, two-way air circulation system for maximum effectiveness. They suggest that you order a size larger than you usually would.

Geared to increase blood flow and aid recovery of muscles after strenuous activity this compression shirt will prevent soreness and speeded up your recovery time.

The odor repellent ensures that you'll remain dry and odor-free during and after your workout. It won’t build up a smell of its own over time.

This vest will soon become your best gum buddy.

The UV ray protection offered is comparable to some of the best compression shirts around. It's guaranteed to speed up recovery while easing sore muscles.

The deodorizing function helps to eliminate ghastly odors by repelling dirt and sweat that build up during a workout or sports session.

Defender offers performance gear for football, soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf, tennis, running, swimming, yoga, and all weather sports and activities.

The Defender Skin technology is a blend of 92% Polyester and 8% Spandex.

This allows this compression shirt to retain heat in winter, and remain cool during the hot summer months.

This vest is lightweight and comfortable, doesn't restrict or limit your movement and is conveniently machine washable.

The compression fit bolsters muscle support while at the same time increases blood circulation for increased recovery time, and reducing the likelihood of injuries.

The UVA/UVB protection will protect your skin from the harsh rays of the sun so you can enjoy your outdoor workout, while the water metastases/water absorption layer/quick dry time.

Two way air circulation system keep you cool. Included is a size chart to help you find your perfect fit.

Under Armour HeatGear provides further support and protection via the UPF 30+ UV protection, keep on harmful UV rays at bay.

The specifically designed moisture transport system wicks moisture away and allows for fast drying.

The 4-way stretch fabrication allows for great mobility, in any direction.

The blend of polyester and Spandex will fit snugly on its own, or under other clothes.

It’s a fantastic option for both indoor and outdoor exercise, and will help regulate a comfortable temperature.

This also provides support to your whole upper body, which is important if you weight-train a lot.

It serves as a reminder to engage your core if you’re into yoga.

This shirt will keep your muscles warm and comfortable, thus improving your performance. It’s also a seamless shirt so won’t scratch or irritate your skin like some can.

The material actively increases blood flow – this reduces the risk of cramp and muscle injury. That’s quite a lot of bang for your bucks.

A compression shirt should be tight, without totally limiting your blood supply! These are designed to enhance performance, so it’s important to find one that fits correctly and will benefit you.

Compression wear companies will often have their own sizing charts that you should refer to. Generally, however, normal clothes sizes apply.

You’ll want a nice, stretchy shirt to work out in. This will allow your body to move freely, while offering support.

I’ll go into more detail below, but the materials used make a big difference in how stretchy your shirt will be. Look for something springy that doesn’t suction to your skin!

You’re going to be sweating while working out (unless you’re one of those flawless women at my yoga class whose full face of makeup does not slide off!), so look for a moisture-wicking material.

This keeps your body feeling fresh and dry, rather than damp and uncomfortable. You’ll probably want to look for a polyester blend, as this will offer plenty of stretch while keeping you comfy. Spandex is normally used to provide that springy feeling.

Compression shirts help your body regulate and maintain a suitable temperature. If you’re outdoors in cold weather, they help by trapping a layer of air between your body and the shirt.

This acts as a thermal vest to keep you warm enough while you exercise, which keeps your muscles working safely. They also help to keep you cool if you’re exercising in hot conditions, by wicking moisture and allowing air flow to your skin.

The best of both worlds!

Quality compression shirts will tick all of the above boxes, and then some. There are many sports brands offering great compression wear, from Nike to Lululemon.

The quality will be apparent in the materials used, as well as how well the seams are stitched. You want something sturdy, as you’re likely to moving around and, once you’ve worn it in, will be getting plenty of use from it!

Quality doesn’t always come with price, so don’t simply opt for the most expensive product you can find. Cheap options are likely to be made of a cheap blend of fabrics that will hold sweat and make working out very uncomfortable.

Equally, the far end of the price spectrum may not actually offer much more in terms of quality. Find something that suits your personal needs and sits within your budget.

All of them! Compression shirts are designed to offer support and enhance performance. They’re great for wearing while working out, as well as dancing and practicing yoga.

Whatever you can think of that keeps your body active can be easily improved by wearing a compression shirt.

They are designed to increase blood flow to your muscles, which improves flexibility, strength and endurance. Our blood carries oxygen to muscles, which helps them function healthily.

All exercise can benefit from more oxygen, and you’re far less likely to injure yourself if you’re wearing compression kit.

As compression shirts cover your torso and arms, they’re most suited to exercise that revolves around using these muscles. Vests are a good option for core exercises.

Lifting weights and any strength work can really benefit from compression wear. These allow your muscles to stay warm enough to use safely, so you’ll often find yourself pushing your limits further than normal.

Compression shirts also reduce the risk of damaging muscle tissue and developing inflamed muscles, both of which can be very painful and frustrating!

They can be worn indoors and outdoors (or in both hot and cold environments), and keep muscles at an ideal temperature to work hard without causing damage.

This means that you can wear compression shirts for any kind of exercise, so go wild!

There are a number of different styles of compression shirts, all suited to specific activities.

Singlet compression shirts focus on your torso. These can be worn alone, or under other clothes.

They work well for weightlifting, but also for activities such as yoga and pilates that involve strengthening your torso. This is because they support your core and serve as a physical reminder to stay active in this area.

These offer support to your torso and shoulders. Your upper body will benefit from a compression t-shirt if you lift a lot of weights. These are also a good option for dancers and gymnasts.

You can also wear these after your workout, weirdly enough. They offer temperature control while you cool down after exercising, and prevent any muscle inflammation following a strenuous workout.

These offer full support to your entire upper body, so are perfect for body-builders and anyone into strength-training. They’re also great for any outdoor runners, as they will help your body regulate its temperature.

I often found that I was a horrible mix of cold and sweaty while running - not only is this uncomfortable, but it basically encourages muscle injuries. Long-sleeved compression shirts help keep your muscles safe while you move, and improve performance.

Compression shirts are well worth giving a try for a number of reasons.

They keep you comfortable. The material used for these kinds of shirts is designed to offer support, so sits snugly on your body. It’s also moisture-wicking, which means no more sweat left on your skin, making you itchy and irritated.

The more comfortable you feel physically, the more likely you are to push yourself and exercise harder, and for longer.  

They increase your performance. These compression shirts increase blood flow to certain muscles. We know now that more blood means more oxygen, which is what our muscles really need.

The pain and fatigue our muscles experience while we exercise is often due to a lack in oxygen. By wearing compression gear, we can make sure our muscles are getting everything they need.

Happy muscles = better workout! The more we look after our bodies while we use them, the better the results of our hard work will be.

They adapt to our bodies. The materials used in compression wear are designed to help our bodies regulate their temperature. If you’re like me, you’ll run pretty hot, which can be even more of a nightmare when you hit the gym.

Although, if you’re really like me you won’t ever actually hit the gym!

Sweating is totally natural, and healthy, but overheating is no fun at all. Compression shirts help our bodies maintain a good temperature – be this cool when we’re working out somewhere warm, or cosy if we’re on a winter run.

From these men’s compression shirt reviews, I'm sure you can see that the best compression shirts are those that offer a range of premium design functions, and functionality.

This review doesn't include any compression shirts for women as they have differing characteristics due to the nature of the female body.

Thank you for enjoying these compression shirt reviews. I hope that they’ve helped you embrace sports technology.