How Massage Benefits Your Workouts

If you just started the year off with a new goal to hit the gym and get more workouts in, or if you have a set exercise routine, do frequent workouts, are an athlete and training, or an occasional weekend warrior crusader, you will notice some very sore and tight muscles after a workout or event.  This feeling of being sore and tight may even last for several days afterwards, hindering you from moving freely about your day or through your next training or workout session.  These sore muscles can hold you back from pushing yourself further to making progress in your workout and training goals.   Soreness can slow you down from your workout goals. ​ Most people know that after exercising and training, that they should drink plenty of water and eat healthy, well-balanced meals.  Proper hydration and nutrition will help your body recover and rebuild muscle by providing your body with the fuel that it needs.  As with what you put inside your body, what you do externally plays are large roll too.  Adding massage therapy into your workout and training routines will help aid you in feeling less sore and help increase your overall performance. Massage therapy not only feels good, but it is good for you, especially if you exercise regularly or are an athlete.  Receiving regular massages for exercisers and athletes will help with recovery and performance by allowing your body to rest, heal, and rebuild.  Here are some of the key benefits to adding massage therapy into your workout routines. ​

• Increase your circulation.  Massages help stimulate your blood circulation by pushing the blood flow back to the heart.  This enhancement of the blood flow then delivers fresh oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and promotes the removal of waste products and toxins. 

• Increase your flexibility and mobility. Massage relaxes the muscles, breaks up scar tissues, and lengthens the muscles to allow them to regain their range of motion.  This leads to increased flexibility and mobility, both aspects that are very important in enhancing your performance and in reducing possible injuries from occurring.

• Reduce your muscle pain and soreness.  Massage helps reduce the tension of the overworked muscles by relaxing them and breaking up adhesions, allowing the circulation of blood flow to increase into that area that needs the nutrients to rebuild and heal.

• Reduce your tension and stress.   Massage stimulates both the circulatory and parasympathetic nervous system.  The combination of these helps promote relaxation and reduces stress and anxiety, by increasing the dopamine and serotine levels, as well as reducing the cortisol levels, which lead to reduced stress and promoting relaxation.

• Improve your sleep.  Massages can directly influence the body’s production of serotonin and can increase the levels of it.  This makes massage a therapeutic drug-free means of reducing feelings of stress and anxiety, as well as increase a person’s ability to fall and stay asleep throughout the night.  The quantity and quality of your sleep at night greatly impacts your recovery process.  A good night’s sleep is just as important as the workouts you do to increase your productivity and focus.

• Speed up your recovery time.  Massage stimulates the body to promote relaxation and healing, allowing the muscles to recover faster post workout or event.

• Enhance your performance.  When you combine the all the benefits massage has to offer, it is a no brainer to realize that massage will help enhance your overall athletic performance.  Whether you are a regular exerciser or a competitive athlete, massage can help improve your workouts and achieve your fitness goals.

​If you are starting a new workout program, or if you are someone who regularly exercises or is an athlete, receiving frequent and regular massages is a key component in reaping the benefits.  Just like your workouts, the more often and frequently you work out, the greater and quicker the results become.  Massage therapy is the same way.  The more often and consistently you receive massages, the greater and faster you will see improvements and

the longer lasting these effects will have on the body.  Ideally, if you are doing intense training, that involves working out about 5 days a week, you should get massages once or twice a week, preferably on your rest and recovery days.  If you are just working out consistently 3 or 4 days a week with mid to high intensity workouts, once a week or every other week may help you reach your goals faster.  If your workouts are more focused on health and fitness and vary between low to high intensity levels about 3 times a week, you may be fine with a monthly or bi-monthly maintenance massage.  Everybody’s body is different.  Learn to listen to your body.  If it is telling you that it is sore and tired, take the time for recovery and allow it to heal through massage therapy.  You will see better results in the long run and you will see an increase in your overall health and wellness as a result too.