6/19/2009

Working out with your massage.

Can you workout before a massage? Sure!
Can you workout after a massage? Why not?

But......

Massage is an excellent way to warm up before a good workout. You will most likely achieve more and repair quicker. There are 2 reasons to be very cautious while work out after a massage session. 1. That pesky reorganization period. Your muscles are reconfiguring to function slightly different than they were before the session. So when you are doing your exercises be quite conscious of your body mechanics and make sure you are doing everything properly. 2. You are so warmed up, you may have the tendency to overdue it. You may feel like you can go faster, push harder, lift more. Don't. Most likely you had a deep tissue massage with trigger point work. Your muscles do have to repair from this work. Adding an intense workout on top of that brings up the possibility that you will wake up quite sore the next day. So just take it easy with your workout. So stay hydrated and simply listen to your body.

Working out before a massage is great way to warm up for me! I will most likely be able to get deeper faster and easier leading to more work being accomplished. Again, you run the risk of being slightly sore; avoid this by staying hydrated and keep stretching!