Massage As A Compliment To Exercise

Many people believe that sports massage is a privileged reserved for the sporting elite. It's seen as something for professional athletes, long distance runners and those constantly engaged in sporting activities.

In many ways this could not be further from the truth. Many people who are occasional runners or even weekly exercisers could benefit from massage as the exertions or strain they put their bodies under can make them more prone to injury.

Everyone knows the benefits of massage including stress relief, recovery and a feeling of wellbeing; but many athletes also believe some types of massage can warm up muscles before you go out and participate in sports.

Although stretching and warming up should still remain an essential part of any sporting activity, it could be suggested that a sports massage is an excellent addition to your pre-workout routine. In terms of how you can incorporate the massage into your warm up and stretch routine, it firmly sits within the 'warming up' element mentioned earlier. The muscles of your body need to be warmed up before they can be stretched. Whether that be jumping up and down, talking a quick walk or even jogging on the spot in your living room it's important to do this before you stretch as it a customises the body to movement. I prefer the jogging on the spot movement before a run as it can warm up your muscles and provides a bit of adrenaline before you go.

If you have the money and the inclination, you can get a sports massage to either add to your warm up, or some experts will supplement your stretching with some techniques that will also stretch out the muscles and prevent injury. Money wise, if you were to get this done once a week it could work well for you.

Just remember to avoid any spa type relaxing-type massages. These will make you either fall asleep or make you too relaxed to participate in any kind of sport - high impact or otherwise! Just make sure that your masseuse knows what type of sport you'll be doing after the treatment and you should be fine.

Of course, if you don't have the resources to have your own sports massage, it's impossible to underestimate the importance of warming up and stretching, as well as warming down. If you want to avoid tearing, snapping or severing any of your muscles then this is paramount. If you're looking into massage but aren't sure about a pre-workout one, then go for a post workout treatment. This may just stop those aches and pains the next day.

Tony is currently researching Massages in Tunbridge Wells