If you’re looking for an environment friendly way to recover after your workouts, consider investing in a Theragun, a therapeutic massage gun used to alleviate ache and reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Whether you’re an athlete or a frequent gym-goer, muscle ache and soreness can be a fixed struggle. Get again to feeling good with our tips on how to make use of a Theragun for exercise recovery!
What is a Theragun?
A Theragun is a handheld therapeutic massage device that makes use of percussive remedy to deal with muscle soreness, relieve ache and speed up restoration after back-to-back workouts. When you workout, lactic acid builds up in your muscles and causes your muscles to micro-tear (which makes you stronger). In order to heal, they tighten and shorten collectively to form cross-bridges, which is what causes post-workout soreness.
Percussive therapy, additionally known as percussion remedy is a type of soft tissue manipulation intended to assist loosen these cross-bridges, reducing muscle soreness and increasing your vary of motion. It’s a deep muscle treatment that delivers rapid and lengthy vertical strokes into the muscle.
There are 4 different Theragun device fashions relying in your needs:
1. Theragun Prime
The Prime is Theragun’s basic mannequin offering as a lot as 30 kilos of force. It’s ideal for the on a regular basis workout, however when you have nagging issues that want extra intensive work, you’ll probably want to go for the Elite or the Pro. The Prime simply strikes round to hit all parts of your physique with out straining your arm, hand or wrist and is efficient for the frequent gym go-er.
2. Theragun Elite
This is Theragun’s quietest mannequin and provides as a lot as forty kilos of force. It’s surprisingly quiet for the quantity of energy it has and it permits you to get deep into your sore muscles. It has a convenient-to-use triangular form and comes with an OLED screen, which helps you gauge how hard you’re pushing.
3. Theragun Pro
The Pro offers the most energy at 60 kilos of force and the quietest utilization in a professional-grade device. This means you can apply massive quantities of pressure to get deep into your tissues. It comes with an adjustable arm with 4 positions that allow you to hit all parts of your physique whereas sustaining a comfortable grip. The Pro would be perfect for a skilled bodily therapist or excessive performing athlete.
4. Theragun Mini
The Mini is the smallest Theragun device and offers as a lot as 20 kilos of force. It’s ideal for treatment on-the-go as it’s portable and highly effective but extremely quiet, so that you can use it anytime, anywhere.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Using a Theragun?
Pros
- Reduces pain
- Boosts blood flow
- Breaks up scar tissue
- Reduces general tension and stress
- Releases muscle spasms
- Decreases lactic acid
- Increases collagen intake
- Improves vary of movement by creating extra versatile joints
- Leads to extra efficient and environment friendly recovery
Cons
- They’re costly
- More analysis nonetheless must be done on whether or not they’re efficient for everybody for reducing muscle soreness
- Muscle fatigue if you use it for too lengthy or improperly
- Be cautious of utilizing it on muscle strains, sprains, inflammation-related injuries, damaged bones
Theragun Attachments Explained
- Dampener: Ideal for overall use and mostly used for tender or bony areas.
- Large ball: Used mostly for large muscle teams such because the glutes, hamstrings and quads.
- Standard ball: Perfect for overall use on large and small muscle groups.
- Cone: Mostly used for pinpoint muscle treatment and generally used on smaller muscle teams simply like the hands and feet.
- Thumb: Used for set off factors and the decrease back.
- Wedge: Ideal for shoulder blades and IT bands and generally used for “scraping” and “flushing” which assist decrease the quantity of lactic acid within the muscles.
- SuperSoft: Theragun’s mannequin of vibration remedy and mostly used for delicate areas like bones.
How to Use a Theragun: 4 Tips for Beginners
1. Turn on the Theragun earlier than placing it in your body.
This is important for higher control. Plus, resting it in your physique after which turning it on can be fairly jarring.
2. Float it.
You don’t have to use a lot pressure with the Theragun to get results. The device does half an inch of penetration so that you don’t have to make use of a lot force. Simply float it over sore muscles or areas for relief. If you’re looking for extra intensity, try switching out attachments to focus on areas that want extra focus.
3. Don’t overdo it.
Be certain to not use your Theragun for too lengthy a time period. A good rule of thumb is to maneuver the device slowly over sore muscles for as a lot as two minutes on every space or apply pressure for 30 seconds on a actually sore and tight spot, stretching the muscle for one other 30 seconds after which repeat. Going anywhere past 10 to fifteen minutes will likely result in muscle fatigue.
4. Use it pre-workout too.
Using a Theragun earlier than you exercise can assist activate your muscles and increase your vary of motion, which helps with efficiency and restoration and reduces your risk of injury. Use the device on the muscles you want to work for 30 seconds to assist activate the muscle. You can additionally use it throughout your workout, for occasion when you’re taking a break between units of squats to maintain the muscles active.
6 Theragun Instructional Videos
How to Treat Lower Back Pain With Your Theragun | Therabody
How to Treat Upper Back With Your Theragun | Therabody
How to Use a Theragun to Release Neck and Shoulder Tension | goop
How to Relieve Sore Legs and Feet Using Theragun | goop
How to Treat Hip Flexors With Your Theragun | Therabody
How to Treat Shoulders With Your Theragun | Therabody
If you’ve been experiencing muscle ache and tenderness after working out, a Theragun could additionally be simply what you want to get again to feeling good!
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