Nearly six years ago, in a tiny hotel room lobby in Kona, Hawaii, I met a guy named Gilad Jacobs. Gilad was holding a black box about the size of a shoebox, and had two big, space-agey looking boots with him, which attached to the box via two air tubes. I fumbled my way into the slightly awkward, hip-high boots, then sat in a chair as the black box pumped air in and out of the boots. I'll admit: six years ago it was a little hokey, and I wasn't quite sure whether the things actually worked to make my legs "more fresh". But since then, Gilad and that tiny black box have come a long way. His company  is now one of the world's leader in rapid recovery, and give a competitive edge to a host of the world’s elite athletes, coaches, and trainers, including... Pro triathletes like: -Craig Alexander -Helle Frederiksen -Chrissie Wellington -Jordan Rapp -Terenzo Bozzone -Mirinda Carfrae -TJ Tollakson -Jesse Thomas -Gwen Jorgensen -Jan Frodeno -Sarah Haskins -Linsey Corbin -Heather Wurtele -Trevor Wurtele -Marino Vanhoenacker -Kim Schwabenbauer Pro cyclists like: -Taylor Phinney -Clara Hughes -David Zabriskie -George Hincapie -Levi Leipheimer Pro runners like: -Deena Kastor -Meb Keflezighi -Ryan Hall -Dan Huling -Kristen Fryburg-Zaitz -Tyler McCandless -Alan Webb Crossfit athletes like: -Noah Olsen -Annie Tunnicliffe -Jason Khalipa -Michele Letendre -Crossfit Invictus -Crossfit NorCal NBA basketball players like: -Roy Hibbert -Steve Nash -Ray Allen -DJ Augustin -Jason Terry -Kevin Garnett -Shaquille O’Neal -Al Harrington -Amare Stoudemire -Chris Wilcox -Dorell Wright -Ekpe Udoh -Monta Ellis -Kara Lawson NFL football players like: -Larry Fitzgerald -Matt Shaughnessy -Patrick Willis -Vernon Davis -Adrian Wilson -Deion Branch -Jerod Mayo -Kevin Faulk -Tyson Jackson -Earl Bennett -Richard Seymour -Darrius Heyward-Bey -Kevin Faulk -Devin McCourty -Jason McCourty Those old-school boots I tried on many years ago have now evolved into something called the , a dynamic compression device designed for recovery and rehab, and something I personally use nearly every day now. The NormaTec systems include a control unit and attachments which go on the legs, arms, or hips. They use compressed air to massage your limbs, mobilize fluid, and speed recovery with a pulsed massage pattern. When you use a Normatec system, you will first experience a pre-inflate cycle, during which the connected attachments are molded to your exact body shape. The session will then begin by compressing your feet, hands, or upper quad (depending on which attachment you are using). Similar to the kneading and stroking done during a massage, each segment of the attachment will first compress in a pulsing manner and then release. This will repeat for each segment of the attachment as the compression pattern works its way up your limb. Today, I interview Gilad, who serves as Vice President of Sports Medicine at NormaTec Industries, LP. He leads NormaTec's Sports Medicine division, which he established in 2007, and is responsible for sales to pro teams, top college and Olympic programs, and elite and amateur athletes.  During our discussion, you'll discover: -How these space-age boots took the leap from being a pure medical device to being an underground method for athletes to recover faster... -The main differences between pulsed compression in the compression boots and regular compression from something like compression socks and compression tights... -What happens biomechanically when you wear the boots, particularly for flexibility, arterial function, pumping of blood and lymph... -Two chemicals that get released in response to pulsed compression that massively dilate the arteries... -How the Normatec system can compress your hips and your arms... -And much more! Resources from this episode: - -Study: DYNAMIC COMPRESSION ENHANCES PRESSURE-TO-PAIN THRESHOLD IN ELITE ATHLETE RECOVERY: EXPLORATORY STUDY -Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 2015 May; 29(5):1263-72 "The purpose