What is the most effective way to integrate regular massages into your training schedule (in terms of timing)? I got a massage yesterday afternoon, which was great, and then tried to run (easy) last night and felt terrible. Specifically, my feet, ankles, achilles, and lower calves were burning. I assume that the two were related. That raised the question in my mind of how to write regular massages into the training plan to maximize their effectiveness (for general recovery, not treating a specific injury).
Get massages on off/rest days. That’s what I would do.
If you are getting deep tissue work done (which should be the case if this is sports massage), then it takes a few sessions to get used to it and not have that run over by a truck feeling the next day. Also if you stretch regularly, then the massage shouldn’t disrupt your training too much.
But, in terms of timing, I like to get massage after a really hard session or right before one. In terms of races, you should get one no later than 2 days before, and while you can get a light, flushing massage done right after a race, your therapist should know when they can go deeper on you a few days later.
If you were hurting after your first session, you should have a talk with the therapist–if this was your first time with deep tissue work, they shouldn’t have gone so deep on you to make you hurt the next day–unless you enjoyed it!
Also, it’s really important that you hydrate well after the massage, but I hope the therapist told you so.
I have gone a few times now- making it a ~monthly habit. Each time I have gone a few hours after a long.hard ride, with the plan of taking off the next day. The next week of riding I feel great.
I have yet to be sore- and I did do deep tissue once. I felt like the non-deep massage gave me the same positive feelings.
Each one was done by the same person. Since it has worked well, I see no reason to try others.
-Physiojoe
I had my massage today. Been in the sport (marathons then Tri) over 30 years and it took at least 15 of those to appreciate the value of dropping one training session for a massage. Injuries reduced whilst performance improved!! Best to include it on a rest day as (depending on type of massage = level of soreness) it breaks down scaring and shifts the crap out of the muscles. I found it took a couple of months before all the ‘knots’ disappeared and the massage became more bearable. All the advice I have ever seen is don’t have one on day of competition or train on the same day.
Just started getting regular (every 3 weeks) massages last year about this same time and struggled with answering this question for myself.
Found that putting the massage later in the day than that day’s workout helped.
When I get done with a massage I want to enjoy the feeling for a while.
I’ve gotten into a pattern of scheduling my massage to come after a swim where I don’t push myself particularly hard.
Then I don’t work out again until the next day in the evening.
Rob
Upon further reflection, I think it was foolish of me to try to run (even and easy run) 4 hours after my massage. In the future I will certainly take the rest of that day off. I am still trying to decide:
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should I take the entire day of my massage off?
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is an easy workout in the morning beforehand going to interfere?
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what about a hard workout in the morning beforehand?
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how long after massages should I take off?
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is the rest of the day enough?
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the entire next day?
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2 or 3 days (i.e. - only getting a massage at the start of a planned block of rest)?
I would love to hear from others who incorporate regular massage into their training plan. How do you schedule it? What have you learned?
I have one every 2 weeks. It seems not top matter what I do the day before i.e. hard run, long bike etc. Its what you do on the day of the massage that counts and all the advice I have ever had over several years is to take the whole day off. A rest day won’t harm your performance it will improve it. The following day - like today for me (had massage yesterday) I did a 6 mile steady run and looking at HR data took a minute off my usual time for the same HR effort legs felt great.
Over my 30 years in running and Tri I have found that I reduced injuries and performed better with regular massage and the rest day that went with it.
Good luck
I’ve been getting a weekly deep tissue massage for a few years now.
I almost always do it on my day off. I think a light workout before is probably okay, but only a light one. But you SHOULD be taking a day off each week anyway, so just put the two together.
If you found a good therapist, then others are right in that it will take you a few weeks to get used to it.
Also, in my experience, a massage that’s “deep enough” to do good things need not actually hurt while being done. Sure, if you have something strained then there will be spots where you’ll feel discomfort while it is being worked on, but it should only be because you have something inflamed, not because the person is going so deep that it hurts on non-inflamed tissue. I’ve had a therapist who liked to do that, and while it did help, moving to a therapist who did NOT do that seemed to help just as much, if not more. I think partially because the therapists who go VERY deep also dehydrate you more, and I don’t care how much you drink, it still won’t actually help as much as a therapist who knows how to get deep enough without hurting you.
BOTH will require you to drink more that day, though, than you think you should. I find it best to get my massage in the morning of the off day so I can just drink like a fish until I’m urinating a bit too frequently that evening, then back off. Getting it later in the day means to get enough fluids I have to either be really lucky, or I’m up all night going to the bathroom. I’ve gotten massages later in the day, not drunk enough fluids, and woken up the next day feeling hungover. Not fun.
I’m 6’2" and I don’t feel like an hour is enough, either. I go with a 1.5 hour regular massage, and if I know something is really jacked up then I try to lengthen it to 2 hours when I can (not always possible, but sometimes). My guess is smaller people can get away with the hour simply because you don’t have as much to work on.
–Donnie
Great reply Donnie I forgot to add the hydration tips which are crucial to effective recovery. I do exactly as you by going early then drinking all day. I also found a therapist who prefers not to try to get her fingers right through my calf muscle!! As you say you get the odd painful spot but I thinks that’s the evidence of problems building that the massage can deal with.
Gary
I’m a massage therapist and wanted to know if you told the person they were going too deep? I tell my clients we don’t want to go past the “hurts so good” zone. I’ve had massages where the therapist didn’t know how to adjust pressure for certain areas.
Massage breaks up all the metabolic waste and puts it back into your blood stream. Drinking water helps get it out faster. I’ve heard stories of clients puking right after the massage and saying they felt great after. If you get to that level, you’re really toxic.
For the OP, have the massages a few hours after your workout; your therapist will tell you how long you need to wait. I wouldn’t recommend working after the massage because you had all that done to only tighten back up.
I would look for a therapist that can customize their massage to fit your needs. Based on that, they should be able to tell you how long the massage should be. For example, I have a routine for desk jockeys that lasts an hour and focuses on the upper body and head. Adding legs in would add an extra 30 minutes. I charge a flat rate for my massages… others might have a cost for each modality and possibly a higher cost for custom.