male=strength :-)

female- I don't trust the male brain AND I like to have all my clothes off- I will do a couples massage though with a male masseuse

Male. The strength thing again :)

Female if it's a stranger; male if it's not ;-)

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DFL > DNF > DNS

I honestly never thought I would care but the 1 massage I've received from a male...well he completely creeped me out. While training for IMCDA I had a female (in her 60's no doubt) that gave me a weekly massage and let me tell you, setting aside the creep out factor of the dude, she won as far as strength, pressure, etc. hands down. That woman has arms on her I only hope to have some day.

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Life is Short...Run Long

female- I don't trust the male brain AND I like to have all my clothes off

me too!

If you can't get enough strength out of a female then she's just not a good therapist. Mine has made me threaten to punch her in the face before :)

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I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way

 
I second this- my female therapist makes me scream when I'm knotty she is a specialist at deep tissue and a specialist for athletes. If I'm traveling I always ask for those 2 pre-requisites

I don't really care either way but have had nmore massages from women. Once time it was a little blonde young thing and I groaned inwardly thinking it was going to suck. It ended up being one of the best massages I ever received. She had done her training in Boulder and worked on lots of athletes. Don't judge a book by it's cover.

Doesn't matter to me. I have had good and bad massages from both female and male therapists. My current massage therapist is female.

whoever will do it for cheaper ;)

there were supposed to be canadian college of massage and hydrotherapy students offering free massages after the mudpuppy chase 10k i did in kitchener, ON on may 3rd. no sign of them...at least i got food at that race, though..

i'm still relying on my husband giving me bearhugs up and down my back for the moment, plus what i can do myself (took a course in sports massage, wrapping and taping about 10 years ago) :p

cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

Agreed. My current one is male, one of the guys on Katy's and my bike racing team.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Male. Mine is a former pro triathlete.... so I pick his brain for the entire hour. And in the process he has become my coach. It is win-win all around :)

I find the women rmts that I have had, have hurt me more than the male. I don't want to come out feeling beat up. Some people feel they haven't gotten their money's worth unless they feel beaten up at the end!

I had a male massage therapist make an inappropriate and unprofessional comment about my body this past fall, and since then have been wary of all male massage therapists :P

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I find it odd that you felt uncomfortable consdering you are constantly telling all the guys on the main forum how cute you and your assorted body parts are.Perhaps you are oblivious to the way you portray yourself sometimes.

Here is what you just said to Murphys Law on the "no sugar race week" thread.

"Well,you'll be able to watch my cute little tail disappear as you struggle to keep up"

Really TC,if you want to be taken seriously don't post stuff like that on a forum full of grown men.I'm sure you just mean it in fun but some guys will take you the wrong way and that may result in the wrong kind of message getting through.


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Please show me where I said it was okay for anyone to treat her unprofessionally!

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You are a wise man Nick.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

to nobody in particular but this is my THREAD! and it is not going to be about Tigerchik. So, stick to the topic!!!

So...back to the actual matter at hand: massages.

And allow me to throw massage therapist gender aside? For which it sounds the findings indicate- (mostly) arbitrary.

What kind of massages do you folks get (deep tissue, theraputic, rolfing, etc.)? How often? Do you find best value with students in schools or with professionals with a lot of experience? When do you get them, during a training cycle?

Any amazing self-massage tools that we haven't discovered yet? Besides the Stick, and foam roller!

i like the ones with "happy ending" but that happens in Vegas only!

On an ideal week, on a Friday, after morning hot yoga. It is a nice way to finish off a hard tu/wed/th and sets me up for long sat/sun.

I will get one right after a race, only when it is a long hard race like a marathon. I would prefer to have one before a race rather than after, if I had to choose. Budget is always an issue!

I try to get one every other month. I'd do it more frequently if I had the money. We get a team rate, so that helps out and our teammate is very good.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

We are big fans in this house of tennis balls and Kong Dog toys...they're good for the specific point issues that a foam roller might not specifically get.

I had a bike wreck a few weeks ago and went to a chicky that drilled her elbows, wrists and pointy fingers from my butt cheek to my ear, she also spent a lot of time just lightly kneading - I hurt during but could actually move my back afteward...was able to run a marathon that weekend....I vote a mix of therapy types works best...

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AW

Wow, that's amazing....I bet some of your "mix of therapy" includes a good attitude, positive thinking and a load of bad-assery.

A gay man. Sounds weird but I swear my best massages have come from gay men. No sexual weirdness and good strength. Generally gentle even when beating the crap out of me. If it didn't sound really messed up I'd ask for a gay man whenever I called for an appointment at a spa.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Gender doesn't matter, what matters is that you have a good, knowledgeable masseuse that you can work well with. I currently go to a great guy and I get along with him and can work with him well, but I've sent other people that their personalities just don't mesh and it just doesn't make for a good combination. However, I don't go to him for a relaxing spa experience, I go to him to get specific issues worked on and sports stuff. If I want to get a nice relaxing spa massage, I'll go to a spa in my neighborhood and just go to whomever there. All in all, if you are looking for an effective sports massage, I don't think gender matters, it is the therapist that matters.

And for those who don't like going to a male because they don't trust the male eyes or whatever. My theory is this, they see bodies all day long. This is their job and most are professionals (and if they aren't they aren't going to be around long and have a good client base). I don't think they look at bodies sexually, but instead look at them like a machine that they are working on. It is kind of the same thing with guy doctors. I know some women get freaked out going to guy doctors, but in my opinion they see the body parts day in and day out and they didn't go to medical school to go into this field for a turn on! Just my two cents.

You are quite right and I'm glad you pointed that out.Like any industry there are unprofessional characters but not every male massage therapist should be thought of a some kind of predator.Massaging hour after hour can be hard work and the whole nudity thing becomes pretty "ho hum" quite quickly.Having said all that, I do think that Nth Americans tend to be the most prudish when it comes to getting their clothes off for a massage.

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I'm surprised there hasen't been any massage therapists pipe up yet but here i go. I am a massage therapist in ontario, and i'm a guy!, the last response is very on the ball regarding looking at a body as a machine, as a therapist for over 10 years specializing in sports injuries and therapeutic treatments, i explain it as being like a mechanic working on a expensive car like a porshe, we don't see the nice car, we see the alignment is out as you walk in, we see your right shoulder is droped forward and down 2" you pronate more on the right, the tissue in your piriformis and tfl are tight and ropey possably causing x and y. To fix this i need to do this, this, and this.
Not all states are the same, in ontario we receive 2400hrs of training to start then need to get extra hours through our carreer, in florida the training is 500hrs, texas is 250 hrs, some states have NO regulations, in nevada i believe you still have the same license as a table dancer!. What does this mean for you, it means that the consumer needs to be educated about ther choices they are making, if possable get recomendations from other athletes, and friends, check out the amta website, find out what the regulations are in your area, try to find someone that makes a bit more of a commitment to there job (ie extra courses, volunteering/envolvement in major events), if your uncomfortable let the therapist know and why, as a trained medical proffesional your health and safety are paramount to us. If your session sucks tell the therapist, then tell ther boss, if it is legal matter tell the police and tell ther association.

If your not sure wher to start, try going for just half an hour on your legs after your long work out of the week, wher your running shorts so you feel more comfortable and try them out.

Who to see? guy or girl? Some therapist have a hard time working deeper on a consistant basis, usually it's female becuse of ther size, this is a generalization but is based on mechanicle advantage! some smaller therapist give great treatments but can't do more than two or three of these a day, if you are number 6 the therapist will have a harder time working effectivly at deeper presure. Then again i've had treatments by guys and it felt like they wher petting my back :(, technique is always the #1 deciding factor for me, try them out see if they work for you, male or female it doesn't matter.

Some thing to keep in mind is that when you are looking for a sports massage, to take care of a sports injurie, becuse you are an athlete, why would you go to a posh spa? I here this complaint all the time from patients. You wouldn't take your expensive highend car to get a performance tune up done at a kmart or sears automotive department would you.

For athletes ther are some things to look for in a therapist that may help you down the road. Does the therapist have a good working relationship with the local medical community, can they refer you to a good physio, chiro, or sports md, if needed. What involvement do they have with your sport, a therapist would have a much better understanding of the kinesiology of your sport if they are involved with it, instead of only watching that crazing running/biking thing on tv once (yeh i heard this from a therapist i went to once). What other courses or continuing education have they taken that may be of benifit to you as a patient? have they taken the differnt Active release courses and stayed current?, are they certified in kinesio taping, have they been part of the medical team for any major local or natonal events?. What are ther hours and availability like?, do they do this as a part time job on the side or do they do it full time, if they are really busy and popular will you be able to get in monday or tuesday if you get hurt on your long run on sunday, or do they have to sneek you in a week from thursday.

So many things to consider!

( sorry for being long winded, but i hope this helps a bit)

Depends...often females are not strong enough and end up using their elbows which is quite painful. 1st choice is strong, athletic female

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140.6 gotta love it!
Idropboys.com
http://jdunkle.blogspot.com/

During high volume training, every other week after my long run, which follows my long ride. Never before big training sessions.

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140.6 gotta love it!
Idropboys.com
http://jdunkle.blogspot.com/

Great post and I agree completely.It's funny,when I'm with a bunch of guys and they make tell me to "check that girl out" I pretty much check out the physiology first.I always look to see if the shoulders are straight,if she has good posture,what her feet are doing and how her shoes are wearing down,etc,etc,etc.Her "hottie factor" is the not the first thing that registers in my mind.

Maybe that is why so many people think I'm gay. ;-)

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Fantastic response, thx! I am also in Ontario and I have heard that other states/provinces have very different standards than we do here.

Before I was so involved in sport and getting rmt massage, I remember going to a spa for a massage and the receptionist asked me, Do you want a tax receipt for the massage or doesn't it matter? I asked what she meant and she said, well if you need the tax receipt, then you will see the rmt but if you don't need it, you can see the esthetician-massage person. (ie rmt is tax creditable as a medical expense whereas the other is not).

What a crazy way to decide which kind of massage you want/need! Talk about needing to be an informed consumer!

Statistically - you'll see females requesting female massage therapists, and men usually only request females.
My wife is a massage therapist. Of the 17 mt's she works with 2 are male, only one has a decent client list to keep himself somewhat busy, all the ladies get booked long before the guys do.


As for the strength - my wife is petite and less than 120 lbs and has had many people (usually guys) say something along the lines of "you're awfully small to be helping me" that sort of crap. The size of the therapist has little to do with the pressure or strength. Technique, style and strength go along way. My wife's hands are like vises, but the strength does no good if you don't know how to use it.

Take care,
Scott

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The fatfoot is coming....

The current person I go to is a guy. He's 100% professional and does a great job. I'd be just as happy going to a woman though.

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"What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. What are YOU on?" - Lance Armstrong

I have been going to the same LMT for ~5 years now. She is great and is really in tune with finding what is wrong without my saying so. She can apply the right amount of pressure and also knows when to back off. She definitely has the strength to do deep massages. At times I cringe and flinch, but in the end I know she is right and everything works out. I don't buy into the male/female strength issues. I think it is the person, not the gender that is the issue.

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