Leading massage therapist at Luxury Fitness Eka Tkal on the role of massage in the training process.

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It doesn’t matter what the training is aimed at - for great athletic results or for amateur fitness support. Loads have a negative effect on muscles and ligaments, and the body needs outside help. Massage before and after training helps you recover faster and helps you achieve your sports goals faster. Let's consider the benefits and harms of massage and the nuances of rehabilitation procedures.

Basic information

Massage is a mechanical procedure affecting the main nerve centers. In addition, it perfectly warms up the muscles, helps to stretch, tone, or disperse blood in locally clogged areas.

Many people consider the procedure of visiting a massage inappropriate and unnecessary. However, it helps to significantly speed up the recovery process between workouts. First of all, the possibility of accelerating the blood and reducing the formation of lactic acid in the muscles plays a role.

Of course, the massage procedure in no way affects either anabolism or catabolism, but it is an excellent adaptogenic procedure, as it improves well-being and reduces the stress factor, which can affect the results of the training process.

Well, and most importantly, post-workout massage reduces the likelihood of injuries, as it simultaneously:

• Warm up all muscle groups;
• An alternative to classic stretching;
• An excellent relaxer.

The benefits of massage after exercise

Excess lactic acid or lactate is removed from the muscles, causing microtrauma to the tissue. This, in turn, causes pain in athletes, causing them discomfort. Overstrained muscle fibers are in hypertonicity for several hours after exercise, which also causes discomfort.

Sports massage helps relieve tension and improve the supply of blood and oxygen to tissues. Experts recommend conducting sessions no later than 3 hours after training - it is during this period of time that the tissues are most susceptible to physical impact. As a result:

• overstrained muscles relax;
• lymph flow and metabolic processes in the body accelerate, venous outflow increases;
• thanks to the active delivery of oxygen and nutrients, the feeling of internal fatigue and stiffness disappears;
• pain syndrome is relieved;
• prevention of adhesions and fibrosis resulting from sports microtraumas occurs;
• locations of possible injuries are identified.

In general, cell regeneration, blood circulation and delivery of nutrients to organs and tissues improve. Massage helps you relax after an intense workout, get rid of soreness, and speed up recovery processes.

If your goal is to lose weight, a combination of fitness and massage will allow you to get positive results in the optimal time frame. In this case, a modeling massage procedure lasting 45 minutes is recommended. The skin will tighten, the silhouette will take on a sporty shape, and the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks will disappear.

In order for your body to tone up faster, it is enough to perform massage procedures for 30 minutes. In this case, wellness, lymphatic drainage, and relaxation massages are suitable.

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Differences from the classic

In order to understand how sports massage differs from classical massage, you need to understand what the main objectives are for certain types of massage.

As you can see, sports massage is a complex procedure that combines the principles of both classical and hygienic massage. Its main task is to accelerate recovery after training and overall improvement in well-being.

How does manual anti-cellulite massage work?

Today, anti-cellulite massage services are offered in almost every beauty salon. However, it is worth knowing that an illiterate massage therapist with his uncoordinated actions, at best, will not bring any benefit, and at worst, can cause harm to health.

To enhance the effect, various massage and aromatic oils, medicinal ointments and gels are used.

The procedure should be trusted to a specially trained master who not only knows the technique of performing this method of getting rid of cellulite, but also has a complete understanding of the location of lymphatic vessels and organs in the human body, indications and possible contraindications.

Manual anti-cellulite massage, thanks to special mechanical techniques, warms up tissues, creating a sauna effect, crushes fat deposits, and produces a pronounced lymphatic drainage effect.

To increase efficiency, special scrubs, oils, and lotions can be used, which additionally stimulate metabolic processes and help eliminate congestion.

As a result, metabolic processes are activated, blood intensively circulates through the vessels in the subcutaneous fat, capillaries are strengthened and the production of collagen and elastin is activated - all this helps to reduce the appearance of cellulite. In the manual version, the procedure is performed without special equipment.

How does hardware anti-cellulite massage work?

During a hardware massage, the master works with special devices that help smooth the skin and reduce the severity of cellulite. Typically, mechanical vacuum massagers (cans) are used, which suction small areas of the skin, as well as devices that create a movable skin fold, as when fingering. The effect is similar to manual massage, however, any type of influence has its own nuances.

Possible harm

Is there any possible harm from post-workout massage? In fact, there can be no harm from a properly done massage. However, if the procedure is not carried out by a specialist in his field, then under the influence of his massage you can seriously stretch the muscle, which will lead to injury in the next workout. In addition, improper massage does not provide any benefit, so in this case, the likelihood of getting a sprain, or discomfort that will increase stress after training can negatively affect all progress. Otherwise, if you do not have serious injuries in the form of sprains or recent dislocations, massage cannot cause significant harm to the athlete’s body.

Relieves stress, improves mood

Kneading the body is also beneficial for the proper functioning of the nervous system. Studies have shown that regular treatments reduce chronic pain of any kind and improve the quality of night sleep. Massage sessions increase the level of oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins (hormones of happiness) in the blood, and reduce the level of cortisol (responsible for stress).

After a massage, a person feels relaxed, but not tired. The session allows you to restore the energy spent during training. Hard muscles become soft, soreness disappears. Thanks to stroking movements, you can achieve a pleasant state of rest. Energetic techniques do not evoke positive emotions, so they are never used at the end of a session.

Preparing for a massage

There are several basic rules that will allow the massage procedure to be more effective and reduce discomfort.

1. After training, at least 10-15 minutes should pass, during which time the main pumping effect will end, which can lead to additional unpleasant sensations.
2. You can't close the carbohydrate window. In general, you can only consume a small amount of BCAA before a post-workout massage. Since the stomach should be empty and relaxed during the massage procedure.
3. Massage is performed only on a clean body, so make sure to take a contrast shower immediately after training.
4. If you are injured during training, indicate this to the specialist so that he does not work on the damaged area.

Otherwise, the massage does not have any specific preparatory procedures.

How often should the procedure be performed?

How often can you get a massage after training? It really all depends on how often you exercise. If your workouts are daily, then you can refrain from daily massage, or replace a sports massage with a relaxing one.

In the case when the training is a classic three-day split, then the massage procedure can be carried out even after each training session. However, the effectiveness of such a massage will be small.

In any case, massage is only part of the recovery complex, therefore, you can alternate between massage and sauna, or perform only a partial massage. After training the legs, it is recommended to massage immediately, i.e. after the approach - this will reduce the influence of lactic acid the next day, which is especially important, since the legs are a muscle group that allows movement.

When is the anti-cellulite effect of massage achieved?

A noticeable effect in reducing the severity of cellulite can only be obtained by using a whole range of anti-cellulite measures. If you don’t bother yourself with feasible physical exercise or, while on a diet, continue to lead a passive lifestyle, anti-cellulite massage will not help.

To obtain the desired effect, anti-cellulite massage should be carried out in compliance with the techniques and rules:

• The procedure must be carried out regularly. The number of sessions to obtain a lasting result depends on the severity of cellulite and the area of ​​localization. As a rule, 10-12 procedures are prescribed every other day, then a 4-day break is required, after which the course is repeated if necessary. When a result is achieved, in order to maintain it, massage can be performed much less frequently.
• The optimal time for a massage is the first half of the day. Active movement throughout the day complements the effect of the procedure.
• If the massage is carried out in the evening, it should be combined with an anti-cellulite wrap, for example, with seaweed.

Anti-cellulite massage technique

Anti-cellulite massage is performed in accordance with developed technologies. Before starting the procedure, the skin should be steamed and cleaned. During the massage process, it is important to perform the movements correctly. Clockwise action is allowed with pressure. In the opposite direction, only light stroking is possible.

When performing an anti-cellulite foot massage, the following conditions must be observed:

• the inner thighs need to be massaged from bottom to top;
• external, on the contrary - from top to bottom;
• Massage of the buttocks is performed from the central part with circular movements to the sides and from bottom to top.

During the entire procedure, it is necessary to exert vigorous, continuous pressure on the body so that the muscles do not cool down.
Only in this case a pronounced lifting effect is achieved. After the first sessions, bruises may appear on the skin due to intense exposure.

To summarize

Finally, I would like to answer one of the most frequently asked questions - it is better to do a massage before or after training. Of course, there is an effect from a massage before training. And it is comparable to a good warm-up or stretching. In addition, massage before training is needed in cases where the athlete has professional injuries.

But still, the effectiveness of massage after training is much higher. The way it allows:

• Remove lactic acid from the body;
• Remove tension from muscles;
• Reduce the likelihood of getting pinched;
• Relieve psychological stress;
• Speed ​​up recovery.

If you do not have the opportunity to receive a full massage after training, it is enough to take a shower with a massage nozzle. Recently, good gyms have special showers that massage all muscle groups.