In case you haven’t bought a massage gun yet …
(C’mon, all the cool kids have one)
You CAN and SHOULD believe the hype.
Here’s your TL;DR* version of recent research:
(*that’s “Too Long; Didn’t Read,” in case you’re not hip to the lingo :-)
Using a massage gun BEFORE exercise can reduce delayed onset muscle soreness [the soreness you sometimes feel about 24-48 hrs after a hard workout] and may improve performance in subsequent workouts.
Massage guns are scientifically proven to be effective for reducing acute muscle pain.
A massage gun alone may be sufficient to increase strength in de-conditioned muscles.
Make sure you’re using it properly.
(You probably aren’t, though 😉)
You should use your massage gun for less than 5 minutes per muscle, with 1 – 2 minutes being optimal for most people most of the time.
Here’s the model I use myself:
