The Benefits of a Massage After a Workout

The Benefits of a Massage After a Workout : Are you a fitness enthusiast?

Around 80% of Americans don’t get enough exercise. With the recent health crisis, though, people found themselves with a lot of free time on their hands. Many opted to use this time to improve themselves by working out.

If you’re among these people, you may notice some soreness after your first workout. These can hamper your fitness progress and make your day-to-day activities a chore. Often, this discourages people from continuing their workout routines.

What’s great is you can prevent this from happening by getting a massage after workout routines. These massages also bring different benefits for you to enjoy. Read what’s below to learn what they are today.

Helps With Post-Workout Recovery

Should you get a massage before or after workout activities? Most believe that getting one before is a great way to warm your body up for the task ahead. However, a post-workout massage is superior as it helps aid in recovery.

A person typically suffers from a few ailments after working out. Stiff backs, tense muscles, and soreness often follow an intense workout session. Massages can help you get over all these ailments faster.

Stiff backs are a part of what caused 45 million adults to opt for massages in 2018. Massages help keep your spine straight as you lift heavy weights on your back. They also improve its flexibility, along with the other muscles you’ve worked on during the session.

Does massaging sore muscles help speed up recovery? Yes, it does, and it also helps you avoid delayed onset muscle soreness.

Soreness comes from the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles. This irritates the muscles, making them inflamed later on. Massages can help flush out lactic acid to prevent soreness the next day.

Releases Endorphins

Many people claim that exercising helps them become happier individuals. What they don’t know is that the post-workout massage is largely responsible for their cheerful mood.

Massages from a trained therapist will put you in a relaxed state. In this state, your body feels at peace, prompting your brain to produce more endorphins. This hormone reduces your stress and puts you in a good mood.

You’ll also feel less anxious thanks to the production of endorphins. The feeling of accomplishment from working out magnifies this positivity, leading to a significant improvement in your mental well-being.

With the help of massages after your workouts, you become a well-rounded individual. You’ll find yourself more patient with things, and you’ll have a better outlook on life in general.

A positive mindset is important when you’re working out, too. It prevents you from feeling discouraged if you’re not seeing the results you want.

Helps Regulate Blood Circulation

Working out does a lot to help with blood circulation on its own. Any sort of activity burns your body’s fat reserves, including the ones surrounding your organs. This makes it easier for your heart to pump blood and for the blood to travel all over your body.

Massages help by further improving your body’s circulation. They promote good blood flow by stimulating the areas that need more blood. It uses your body’s active circulatory system to reach these areas with ease.

A post-workout massage also helps areas that receive too much blood while you’re exercising. It eases your muscles, preventing them from restricting the blood flow by being too tense. As mentioned above, this helps prevent soreness and the buildup of lactic acid.

Improved blood circulation also means your pores are more active. Active pores stay open, especially right after your workout. They prevent dirt and other impurities from getting trapped under your skin.

With the oils your body produces, massages remove these impurities from your skin. This improves skin health and gives you a healthy, youthful glow, too.

What Massage Should You Get?

Now that you know the major benefits of a massage on your post-workout body, which one should you get? There are a few options to choose from, and each has its own unique perks. Here are the massages you should consider.

Thai Massage

A Thai massage involves the use of a stone to relax your body. It starts off with the therapist focusing on pressure points using the stone. They then run the stone across these points, realigning them to help your body recover.

This massage is slower and often more gentle on your body than other massages. It’s the perfect option if you’re suffering from DOMS. Soreness disappears the next day, helping you get back on track with your workout regime.

Swedish Massage

If your workout regime involves daily intensive activities, a Swedish massage is the best option. This is one of the gentler massages around. It focuses on relieving the tension built up from your routines.

The Swedish massage often targets the muscles you’ve used while exercising. Localized massages promote more accurate relief and recovery. It ensures you’re good to go the very next day without the worry of muscle tearing or strain.

Deep Tissue Massage

A deep tissue massage is one of the more intense treatments available to you. It focuses on specific body parts, mainly your back, legs, and shoulders. These are the areas that have lots of tissues connected to these muscles.

This massage aims to realign the different layers of muscle in these areas. It’s the best choice when you’re lifting heavy weights during your workouts. Those going through intense training for fast muscle development also benefit from this.

Get a Massage After Workout Activities Today

Soreness will never be an issue once you learn about the benefits of massage to the body. A massage after workout routines, no matter how intense they are, will leave you feeling relaxed. Get a massage and allow your body to rejuvenate today!

Do you want to learn more about your body and how to take care of it? Our articles and guides will help you with your journey towards self-care and betterment. Check them out and learn a thing or two today!