As important as working out is, preparation and recovery are also a key part of your training. If you aren’t recovered, you won’t be able to work out as hard next time, and you can risk injury. And as many pros will attest to, pre-workout preparation goes a long way to help you perform your best and reduce injury. We have some products in for review from NormaTec and Hyperice, so before we tell you what we think, we wanted to give you a preview of what they have to offer.
Back in March, California based Hyperice acquired Boston based NormaTec. The companies bring together a wide range of diverse products that help with athletic and injury recovery in very different ways. Hyperice, who started off providing advanced solutions to cold therapy, has since expanded to include their Venom heat and various vibration products. They are most well known for their Hypervolt percussion massage tools. NormaTec on the other hand has a long history of using pneumatic compression massage to promote blood flow before or after a workout and help recovery and soreness. If you’ve attended a sports trade show over the years, you’ve probably seen people sitting in lounge chairs with their black, hip-length boots on.
Hyperice was founded by Anthony Katz, a high school teacher, and basketball coach. It was a combination of the right product, at the right time, and getting it into the hands of the right people that helped it take off and become a success. Starting back in 2011, pro athletes like Mark Sanchez, Blake Griffin, Troy Polamalu, Hope Solo, Lindsey Vonn, and others were not just early adopters, but investors in the company. J.J. Watt and LeBron James are also big fans of their products.
So here is a quick rundown of their product lines. For all products, the retail pricing is given, though at the time of publication, Hyperice is running sales on many products. Check their website for sale prices.
Hyperice Ice Compression Technology
Let’s start where it all began for Hyperice, the Ice Compression Technology (ICT) line. These products use a compression wrap to help keep the ice pack in place and provide compression to the area. The soft and stretchy neoprene sheath comfortably holds the ice pack and uses stretchy straps with velcro to create the compression. The reusable ice pack is made from a thin membrane with a watertight cap, nothing really special until you look closer at the cap. It features an air release valve to keep the fit tight as the ice melts and air pockets develop. The ice pack is removable, and has a large mouth, making it easy to file. The mix of compression and ice helps to relieve pain and inflammation in a comfortable and non-restrictive design. The neoprene sheath is machine washable to help keep everything hygienic.
ICT products are available specifically for your back, left and right shoulders, and knee, along with a utility model that is designed to wrap around other parts of your arms or legs. Starting at $75, we will be reviewing the ICT Knee.
Vyper 2.0/Hypersphere
The Vyper vibrating foam roller was the next product developed. It uses an ecofriendly EPP foam roller with a 40w motor inside to provide vibrating massage as you hit trigger points while rolling. Whether you are warming up or recovering, adding vibrations to a roller will help flexibility, range of motion, and circulation even more than a traditional roller.
The Hyperspheres bring the same benefits of the Vyper but in ball form, allowing you to roll in any direction. The Hypersphere uses a 30w motor with a textured rubber exterior, helping provide grip and balance as you are rolling your hips and legs. The smaller Mini version uses a 10w motor with a silicone exterior to create a handheld massaging ball that you can take anywhere.
All three of these products feature a cordless design with a central power button and LED’s to show vibration and battery levels. They Hyperspheres are both TSA approved and perfect for traveling.
The Hypersphere starts at $99 for the Mini and $149 for the full size. The Vyper 2.0 tops out the line at $199.
Venom
The Venom line brings together elements of the ICT and Vyper lines to offer compression and vibration massage in a single unit, but adds heat to the equation. It uses a similar sheath design as the ICT products made from soft, stretchy neoprene to provide compression and mobility while wearing. Instead of cryo though, it uses heat and vibration to help you warm up, or to loosen stiff, sore muscles.
The unit features a digital touch screen controller mounted to the unit. The amount of heat can be controlled through the unit, along with various vibration patterns and the length of time it will run for.
Venom models are available specifically for the back, left and right shoulders, and knee. All units are $249. We have a shoulder and back unit in for review.
Hypervolt
The Hypervolt is probably the most well known of the Hyperice products. It is a percussion massage tool that can be used all over the body. Percussion massage is exactly what it sounds like. The Hypervolt uses a motor in a handheld device to essentially pound on your muscles. Trust me, it feels good.
Different heads can be swapped to target different parts of the body or massage in different ways. The battery is located in the handle and can be swapped for a spare to keep it running during extended use. A single button on the back turns the unit on and controls the three various speeds on the unit. A pressure sensor in the unit helps to provide visual feedback to keep your session on target.
The Hypervolt+ has all of the features of the original Hypervolt, but with a stronger, 90w motor. Battery life does drop by 30 minutes to 2.5 hours due to the higher-powered motor.
New Bluetooth enabled versions were just released, allowing you to connect and control the Hypervolt through a mobile app, which will also guide you through various routines, automatically adjusting the intensity as you go.
The Hypervolt retails for $349, while the Hypervolt+ is an additional $50 more. There is no upcharge for the Bluetooth enabled versions, though the non-Bluetooth versions are currently on sale for $50 less. We received the Hypervolt and have been putting it to good use.
NormaTec Pulse 2.0
The final product in the line is the newest for Hyperice, the NormaTec Pulse 2.0. The Pulse system uses pneumatic compression to help promote blood flow and help with preparation and recovery. You can customize how long a session lasts, pressure levels (1-7), and the number of zones the cycle will go through, all through the base unit or the app you can connect through your mobile device. There is a lot of science behind the system, which we will get into in the full review, but here is the high level on how it works.
Using the boots as our example, the Pulse 2.0 inflates the boots in various zones to compress parts of your legs. The PULSE pattern uses three techniques, pulsing, distal release, and gradients, that mimic how the body works. The pulsing replicates the action of the muscles in how they pump fluids and metabolites out. This is important because static pressure can actually be harmful to recovering muscles, which takes us to Distal Release. Besides not pumping out the harmful remnants of muscle metabolism like lactic acid, static pressure for too long can actually interfere with your body’s natural circulatory flow. Distal Release holds the pressure long enough to help prevent backflow and releases before the point of being harmful. The final piece, Gradients, refers to how the system works like your veins in preventing fluids flowing backward. By moving through the five zones of the boots, it helps to promote blood flow and flush out your legs after a hard workout. As I said earlier, we’ll get deeper into the science in the full review in the near future.
The Pulse 2.0 system is available in different packs to focus on the arms, legs, hips, or various combinations. The base system with the Pulse 2.0 and one set of attachments starts at $1295. The full body package, which gets you the Pulse 2.0 and arms, legs, and hip attachments tops out at $2195. There is also a Pulse Pro 2.0, which is geared more towards physical therapists and sports medicine professionals, as there are additional modes and customization that you can do with it. Pulse Pro 2.0 packages start at $1495 and top out at $2395 for the full body.
We have a full body Pulse 2.0 package in for review, along with some short boots for my wife to use, so look for a separate review coming soon.
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
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