Both massage and exercise are important for a healthy lifestyle. You shouldn’t drop any of them from your daily schedule. But, you should keep a perfect balance between the both.
Post massage, people often feel limber and spry and think heading straight to the gym will help them get out of the same. And they will feel better. But, certified massage therapists recommend taking a gap of a day after massage therapy, especially if you have undergone deep tissue massage.
In this post, we will explain why hitting a gym immediately after the massage is not good and you should postpone it for at least 24-hours.
Higher chance of becoming dehydrated
Massage vigorously works on your muscles and increases circulation. As a result, your body uses water at a faster rate and requires more water than normal.
If you work out immediately after the massage, it won’t be easy to fulfill the excessive water demand of your body. And thus, you will become dehydrated. Even if you try your best, you and your body will not feel satisfied and the urge of drinking will always be there.
To avoid dehydration, you should drink water and give your body some time to recover. After proper recovery, you can sweat it out as much as you want in the gym.
Aggravate Delayed onset muscle soreness ( DOMS)
One of the common effects of massage is delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS because certified massage therapists manipulate and work on the muscles. Chances are that you might not suffer from DOMS post-massage therapy.
If you get delayed onset muscle soreness, especially with intense pain, you should forget your gym for a day. It’s seen that immediately hitting the gym with DOMS from massage aggravates the condition. The pain intensity will be a lot more than normal. Chances are that you might experience pain for more than a day or two.
Potentially strains the muscles
After massage therapy, the flexibility of the muscles and connective tissue increases. In other words, they become gel-like.
Flexibility is good for you and your body but not for performing high-intensity exercise immediately after the massage therapy. Your body becomes vulnerable to injuries while it’s in a post-massage state. Also, muscles and tissues get strained.
What should I do if postponing the workout is difficult?
For many people, a day is incomplete without exercise. No matter how busy they are, they find time to visit the gym and complete the workout schedule. If you are one of them, then you have two options.
- Workout before your massage therapy
- Do some light exercises
Working out before massage will help you reduce muscle soreness by reducing inflammation. Also, it will reduce your recovery time by speeding up cell recovery. But, make sure you take the massage therapy as soon as possible after the workout.
Talking about the types of exercise, you should avoid running, weight-lifting, high-intensity aerobics, and power yoga and prefer moderate walking, gentle stretching, and easy-paced swimming.
For other queries related to post-massage care, ask your certified massage therapist in Philadelphia.