Recovery is an important component of the transformation process. We asked resident massage therapist and client, Carol Cobine, to explain WHY getting a massage is good for you. 

Why Get a Massage?

Every individual in the NGPT community works hard to achieve better health and fitness. The considerate trainers also have your best interests at heart, and with every session, they make sure you feel that love in every muscle fiber of your being. Day after day, week after week, you go back for more.   

Those first days were torturous, but under skillful guidance, the exercise changes your body. Blood vessels branch and grow as the body demands more oxygen and nutrients. Muscles tear and repair, strengthen and tighten. Many people begin to believe that aches and pains are just part of the process: no pain, no gain. You exercise on, strengthening and tightening, strengthening and tightening, tightening and tightening.

At a certain point, heavily exercised muscles may lose their capacity to relax. This causes chronically tight muscles and loss of flexibility. Lack of flexibility can also contribute to muscle soreness and eventually, muscle strain, pulls, and tears.

Don't just take my word for it. According to the Journal of Athletic training, muscle strain is a common sports-related injury that impairs performance. Pain becomes a message to take the time to recover because if you injure yourself, you must stop or reduce your activities to allow your body to heal.

How can massage help? Massage aids recovery from muscle fatigue and injury and is one of the most popular treatments to receive after participating in athletic activities. Coaches and physical therapists often recommend massage to alleviate or prevent athletic injuries. In fact, Adam recently mandated three types of recovery for all active NGPT members, including massage. You always do what Adam tells you to do, right?

The most compelling reason to schedule regular massage is because it helps your muscles recover from strenuous activities. Many people consider massage to be a treat, but it is far more than a luxury. If you are serious about fitness, massage becomes a tool for maintaining a healthy balance between injury prevention and performance improvement.

Additional benefits of massage include:

• Facilitates healing and relaxation
• Promotes 30% faster recovery from over-use, tears and strains than passive recovery
• Enhances circulation and the ability to absorb nutrients, known as micro-circulation
• Breaks up muscle adhesions and  lengthens contracted muscles, promoting flexibility
• Enables more productive training, with longer, more effective workouts
• Deactivates trigger points or sore spots, nodules of tight muscle tissue that can refer pain to other areas of the body

You can schedule a massage 3-4 hours after strenuous exercise. During periods of intense training, you may choose to receive massage up to three times per week. Many people schedule once per week or rotate a massage into their bi-weekly recovery routine. Every individual has different needs; work with your massage therapist to find a frequency that works best for you.

You put every effort into achieving better fitness. Plan for and pursue recovery just as enthusiastically. If you consistently push yourself beyond your limits without allowing your muscles the chance to rest, incorporate massage into your recovery routine. Healthy, injury-free muscles perform better, longer, and with less change of injury.

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Carol Cobine CMT, has been treating athletes and clients since 1994. She specializes in neck and shoulder release but has extensive experience working with clients who are recovering from injuries or in need of stress relief. Want to schedule a massage with Carol? Call 812-360-6216 or email [email protected]