This blog post is brought to you by Adam Gura, who recently completed 'The Suck' with his BODIMAX Sleeves. 

The Suck: any situation where conditions are undesirable, a testament to the dedication of those who endure it. This 12-hour overnight event is a test of physical strength, mental toughness and intestinal fortitude designed to push you to your limits but ultimately empower you. It will consist of trail running, military calisthenics, carrying heavy loads, lifting awkward objects and much more. 

I came into the 12-hour race with a decent amount of rest in my upper body. I did the Murph on the Sunday before the race, but besides that, nothing major.  Our first set of tasks were a good test for the [BODIMAX] sleeves. We did lots of presses, push-ups, and carries, followed up with swimming. Within the swim was a large cargo net of about 25 feet to climb over. At no point in this part of the race did my arms cramp or feel fatigued.

Throughout the 12-hour event, my arms were continually tested with military PT, strongman lifts, and other exercises all while being wet on a continual basis from rain throughout the night and from the terrain. The biggest test on arm cramping (and the BODIMAX Sleeves) came from the two sets of bucket carries I had to do throughout the race. One set was with two 50-pound buckets (one in each arm). In the other set, my buckets were filled with water and we had to carry the buckets a total of 2.4 miles. Although my arms did tire, they never cramped.

Later, once the race was done and the sleeves were off, my forearms cramped several times. Note: don’t hold a phone over an open toilet with cramping forearms, you’ll end up with a wet phone.

Overall my arms felt great throughout the race. I love the material of the [BODIMAX] sleeves. It’s thick but not suffocating. It can handle the wilderness well, as well as obstacle course terrain. It can handle the materials of strongman lifts without snagging or ripping too. Eventually, the grip around the arm by my armpit started to rub me a little raw, but really, a 12-hour race rubs a lot of things raw on your body.