How WaveWear Handles Lactic Acid Build-Up
Four garments, the same 30-minute workout, a blood test every five minutes. Here is what happened to lactate when the only thing that changed was what the men wore.
Compared with general compression wear. FITI Testing & Research Institute, report H231-17-04026 (2017). Values read from the report graph. Results describe the samples and people tested, not every garment or every wearer.
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Summary
Lactate is a by-product your muscles make when they burn glycogen for energy. Blood lactate is one of the most common markers sports scientists use to see how hard muscles are working.
In a 2017 study issued by FITI Testing & Research Institute, three healthy adult men did the same 30-minute workout in four different garments. Their blood lactate was lowest in the adhesive silicone garment, the technology now inside WaveWear (AlignX™).
35%
Lower blood lactate than general compression wear at the 15-minute mark (about 5.9 vs 9.2 mmol/L).
FITI Testing & Research Institute, report H231-17-04026 (2017). Values read from the report graph.
Why measure lactate?
When you exercise, muscles break glycogen down for energy and produce lactate as they go. As lactate builds up in working muscle, performance tends to drop. A widely cited review describes muscle output declining step by step as large amounts of lactic acid accumulate (Allen, 2004).
That is why the test report reads lower lactate as less fatigue. Every reading came from a blood sample run through a lab analyzer, not an estimate from sweat or a wrist sensor.
Who ran the test
The report was issued by FITI Testing & Research Institute, an independent testing institute in Seoul, Korea (report H231-17-04026, March 2017). The measurements were carried out by FITI’s subcontractor, the Sports Leisure Textile Research Center at Inha University, inside a climate chamber.
Test design
Each man wore four sets of clothing, one set per day, at the same time of day, all within one week:
- General compression wear. A standard compression top and tights.
- Kinesiology tape. Tape on the skin, with a T-shirt and shorts worn over it.
- Competitor garment with non-adhesive silicone. Another brand's compression top and tights with silicone inside that does not grip the skin.
- Adhesive silicone (WaveWear). WaveWear compression top and tights with adhesive silicone inside that grips the skin.
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Garment 1
General Compression Wear
Standard compression wear designed to apply pressure on muscle
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Garment 2
Kinesiology Tape*
Regular clothing with external kinesiology tape applied on target muscles*
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Garment 3
Competitor Compression with Non-Adhesive Silicone*
Another brand's compression garment with silicone inside that does not grip the skin
- Both have silicone inside. Only #4 (WaveWear) grips the skin.
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Garment 4Adhesive Silicone* applied inside Compression
WaveWear branded compression top and bottom for full support
*Kinesiology tape and the silicone pattern were applied on the shoulders, back, knees, and calves.
The four test conditions.
- Subjects
- 3 healthy adult men (24 ± 3.1 years, 171 ± 1.7 cm, 69 ± 1.2 kg)
- Before the test
- Health check, then 20 minutes of rest
- Rest
- 30 minutes seated in the chamber; blood lactate measured in the last 5 minutes
- Exercise
- 30 minutes at 60% VO₂max; blood lactate every 5 minutes
- Recovery
- Seated recovery; blood lactate every 5 minutes (the report graph shows the first 20 minutes)
- Chamber
- 23 ± 0.5 °C, 50 ± 10% relative humidity
- Analyzer
- Blood gas / electrolyte analyzer (Nova Biomedical pHOx Plus L)
Results
Before exercise, all four garments started in the same range, about 1–2 mmol/L. Once the workout began, the lines split apart.
- General compression climbed fastest and reached about 9.2 mmol/L at 15 minutes.
- The competitor garment with non-adhesive silicone, and kinesiology tape, peaked at about 9 mmol/L at 25 minutes.
- WaveWear (adhesive silicone) had the lowest reading at every point from 10 minutes of exercise to the end of recovery, and peaked at about 7.3 mmol/L at 20 minutes. At two of those points (10 minutes, and 5 minutes into recovery) the lead was 0.2 mmol/L or less, about the size of the reading error.
| Garment | Peak | Exercise average | Exercise + recovery average |
|---|---|---|---|
| WaveWear (adhesive silicone) | 7.3at 20 min | 6.121% lower | 5.618% lower |
| Kinesiology tape | ≈9at 25 min | 6.9 | 6.5 |
| Competitor, non-adhesive silicone | ≈9at 25 min | 7.3 | 6.5 |
| General compression wear | 9.2at 15 min | 7.7 | 6.8 |
Lower is better. Values read from page 4 of FITI Testing & Research Institute, report H231-17-04026 (2017), about ±0.1–0.2 mmol/L. Percentages compare WaveWear with general compression wear. N = 3.
Blood lactate at every reading. WaveWear peaked lower (7.3 vs 9.2 mmol/L) and averaged 21% lower than general compression during exercise. Tap to open full size.
Chart: Chenjue Ji, WaveWear. Values read from page 4 of FITI Testing & Research Institute, report H231-17-04026 (2017) (about ±0.1–0.2 mmol/L). N = 3.
The original graph in the report, for reference. The solid black line is WaveWear (adhesive).
Source: FITI Testing & Research Institute, report H231-17-04026 (2017), page 4. N = 3.To compare the garments as a whole, we averaged the 5-minute readings for each one. WaveWear had the lowest average both during exercise and across exercise plus recovery.
During exercise, WaveWear averaged 6.1 mmol/L, 21% lower than general compression (7.7). Lower is better.
Chart: Chenjue Ji, WaveWear. Mean of the 5-minute readings from 5 to 30 minutes of exercise, read from the report graph.
Across exercise and recovery, WaveWear averaged 5.6 mmol/L, 18% lower than general compression (6.8). Lower is better.
Chart: Chenjue Ji, WaveWear. Mean of the 5-minute readings across 30 minutes of exercise and 20 minutes of recovery, read from the report graph. Percentages are calculated from the averages shown.What this means for you
Lower lactate at the same workload is a sign your muscles are under less strain. In practice, that can mean holding your pace a little longer before your legs start to feel heavy.
FITI’s summary credits the adhesive silicone regions of the garment with helping relieve muscle fatigue during exercise. That silicone is printed inside the fabric and grips the skin the way kinesiology tape does. See how it is built on the AlignX™ technology page.
WaveWear is sportswear, not a medical device. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any condition.
Source: FITI Testing & Research Institute, test report H231-17-04026, issued 31 March 2017. Page updated October 2026.
Best of WaveWear
Adhesive silicone (AlignX™) is built into our compression wear and our knee, calf, elbow and forearm sleeves.