Best Timing For A Sports Massage

The obvious time to get a sports massage is as soon as you’ve finished your workout. This is a great time for a number of reasons.

 

Firstly, you’re already in the gym, which, if your massage therapist is also based in the gym (which they often are) makes it the ideal opportunity as you don’t have to make two separate journeys.

Your muscles will already be warm from the workout too, so you won’t have to do any warm up exercises or stretches. Massaging cold muscles can be very uncomfortable, and not as effective as when the muscles are warm. The massage therapist has to spend more time easing into the full massage, and often can’t get as deep into the tissue, if you have not recently exercised. They may even ask you to wear warm clothing or compression gear to your treatment so that the muscles start warming up beforehand, or get you to do some light cardio, mobility work or stretching, which can add 10 or 15 minutes on to your treatment. After a workout though, you don’t need to do anything else, as your muscles are primed to go.

 

Secondly, massage is far more beneficial than stretching at reducing that awful DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Seeing as many people skip stretching and cool down exercises post workout anyway, due to time constraints, or just simply being too tired from the session, a sports massage is a great way to relax and unwind when you don't want to do anything else after a hard training session.

Having a sports massage after a workout also means your recovery process starts sooner. You’ll get more blood round the body, pushing nutrients into the muscle cells, making them rebuild and repair straight away, so you’ll be ready for your next workout in no time at all.

Not many people have pre workout massages, but they can be an extremely useful performance boosting tool.

The increased blood flow aids your muscles in warming up, and increases mobility without stretching and weakening the fibers. A pre workout massage will be different to a regular sports massage in a few ways though.

This type of sports massage will likely be a lot shorter, as you don’t want to start to relax – you need to be pumped up and motivated before you train, not spaced out and tired. It will also be more aggressive – the therapist will apply a lot of pressure and work at speed, to activate more muscle fibers. You’ll often see pre workout massages taking places at big events such as marathons and weightlifting competitions.

In Between Workouts

If you’re sore, there’s no better way to feel better than a sports massage. Be warned, you may be feeling very tender, and it will be even more uncomfortable than usual, but you’ll come out of the treatment room feeling refreshed, re-energized, and a lot less sore than when you went in.

What to Look For

Your therapist should have a recognized qualification from a University or an accredited massage education provider. They should also be a sports massage therapist or physiotherapist, rather than a general massage therapist who is only trained to perform relaxation massages. Make sure that your sports massage therapist asks you questions about your general health condition, injuries, and medical history prior to starting, and give them any feedback you have. An effective sports massage should be uncomfortable, but shouldn’t be excruciatingly painful, so let them know if it gets too much.