Massage is often thought of as a luxury, but it really is a necessity when it comes to health and wellness. Receiving regular massage therapy every four to six weeks can improve range of motion, reduce recovery time, and increase flexibility. Whether you’re a bodybuilder, a powerlifter, or are in the gym solely for health and personal benefits, here's 5 reasons why you should be seeing a massage therapist regularly. 

Heavy weights are taxing on the body 

Resistance training can lead to amazing health and aesthetic results. But the consistent repetition of the exercise movements can cause damage to the joints and ligaments. Massage will help stimulate blood flow and increase circulation, bringing rich oxygenated blood to the muscles, in result accelerate healing. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin which is what holds oxygen for delivery to different parts of the body. When you exercise, your muscles use more oxygen than normal, and produce lactic acid as a waste product. Regular massage therapy will promote elimination of these wastes and toxins. 

Recovery 

We know that recovery and rest are two of the more important aspects of weight lifting. Resistance training causes microtears in the muscle fibers. It is rest and the energy from the foods we consume that work to repair these muscle fibers, resulting in muscle hypertrophy. Massage promotes better sleep and relaxation, allowing you to rest properly so muscle fibers can work to repair themselves after strenuous workouts. Massage therapy reduces post-workout inflammation by flushing out metabolic waste products like lactic acid. This promotes faster healing and reduces muscle soreness, allowing bodybuilders to bounce back quicker between gym sessions.

Mental break

Strenuous exercise is just as mentally taxing as it is physically. While massage relaxes the muscles, it relaxes the mind as well. Leaving you clear headed and more focused during your lifts. If you’re a competitive bodybuilder, the strict diet and workout regime can be even more mentally and physically taxing. Massage is a form of self care that will help to relieve stress.

Better mobility leads to better form 

Stretching is vital for recovery, and will help to improve mobility and range of motion, allowing you to keep better form during heavy lifts. While you should be doing a short warmup of dynamic stretches before a lift, it is also important to do 10-20 minutes of static stretching after your lift while the muscles are still warm. This will help with recovery tremendously and prevent muscle soreness. A deep tissue massage will also help to improve mobility as the therapist stretches the muscles and tendons, improving range of motion. When range of motion is limited, the body is not able to maintain proper form and can lead to injury. Regular sessions help lengthen tight muscles which may develop as a result of heavy lifting or repetitive movements during workouts. By promoting better range of motion, massages help prevent strains or pulls that could otherwise occur.

Injury Prevention

The demanding workouts necessary for bodybuilding can cause knots in muscles as well as strain and damage to ligaments and tendons, a deep tissue massage will work to release these muscle adhesions, or knots. Massage therapy plays an important role in injury prevention by alleviating stress on joints and connective tissues. With targeted techniques aimed at releasing tension from specific areas prone to strain or sprain such as shoulders or knees used extensively during weightlifting routines.