sports massages

trtimothy

Hi all,

Basically for some reason I now get free sports massages via my local sport centre. Just a couple of questions I hope people could help me with:

What are they like?
Do they have any benefit before a competition or just after?

Thanks

giantarmy

Depends on your level of competition & volume of training.

In my own best season (National title), I used to get a sports massage every other week on a monday evening after work (rest day) after competing on the sunday and to help me prepare for the training for that week.
In previous seasons, i used to get my legs rubbed on a friday after racing thurs in prep for the weekends events.
IMHO monday routine was better. My circumstances are that I cant currently afford a weekly or fortnightly rub, but i try and get it done at least monthly.
Its definitely beneficial within the racing season and probably beneficial in the winter too. hope this helps

Martin

Italiano

I use to go sometimes during racing season, usually the friday before having a race on the sunday (something like every 2-3 weeks); to me it works great and I feel much more fresh ahead of the race.

trtimothy

Hey guys,

thanks for the feedback. i'll give it a go over the winter and see when it benefits me most then as it seems like its quite a personal thing. Then I'll know whats best for the racing season.

Eddy S

A sports masseur should/will vary the depth of the treatment depending on when you have a massage vs. when you race next and should be asking you about your schedule.

There no point having a deep treatment if you're planning to ride hard or race the next day but a lighter (flushing/maintenance) treatment can be very beneficial.

As ever, there is no one fixed answer and it all depends.... 8)

danlikesbikes

+1 for Eddy S comments.

Personally I tend to have mine after racing/hard blocks of training to loosen up and get me back to "normal". But I do know club mates that have them before racing to make them feel fresher on the line.

Guess it depends on what your looking to achieve - over the winter I'd say get some serious training in you and see if the post approach suits you, then in the summer when racing proper try a pre-race type and see if it helps

clanton

How much of a benefit are they for multi day events? I'm doing the Cape Epic stage race next year and they offer a massage package - a 1/2 hour massage after each day. It is NOT cheap but I probably need all the help I can get - so do you think it would help significantly?

Pokerface

+2 for Eddy's comments.

Whenever I go away training or racing with my national team, we have a masseuse with us and I try and get the legs rubbed and flushed out on a daily basis. Makes a world of difference and usually the next day I have no pain or stiffness in them at all. Significantly improves performance if you have access to it.

Don;t usually get the deeper stuff done as it can actually hurt MORE the next day (but has longer-term benefits).

joeyhalloran

I know it comparison its no contest, but I don't have access to a sports massage and was wondering about the effectiveness of self massage, does anyone do this? I imagine its harder/impossible to really do the deep tissue stuff on yourself, but the lighter massages could be possible? any comments?

shockedsoshocked

JoeyHalloran wrote:

I know it comparison its no contest, but I don't have access to a sports massage and was wondering about the effectiveness of self massage, does anyone do this? I imagine its harder/impossible to really do the deep tissue stuff on yourself, but the lighter massages could be possible? any comments?

Could always try some foam rollers?

@OP: As other have said, deep stuff will hurt like hell, and your legs probably won't feel great the next day, but the day after that they should feel pretty decent (from experience). If you've never had a massage (as i hadn't) the first one will hurt an incredible amount, especially if they start working on knots in the muscles or draining lymph nodes. This was from someone who is about to start working for Garmin-Cervelo, so he's very highly rated. As he said to me, "this isn't a spa day, this is a sports massage, it's supposed to hurt". Jesus Christ did it hurt :shock:

Haven't got experience of lighter massages I'm afraid!

DavidBelcher

JoeyHalloran wrote:

I know it comparison its no contest, but I don't have access to a sports massage and was wondering about the effectiveness of self massage, does anyone do this? I imagine its harder/impossible to really do the deep tissue stuff on yourself, but the lighter massages could be possible? any comments?

There is actually mention of this in one of Les Woodland's books ("Cycle Racing: Training To Win", I think) with a few suggestions on light self-massage to stop the legs feeling too sore post-ride/race, as well as the tip of lying or sitting down with legs elevated for a while, supposedly to prevent build-up of lactate etc. in the leg muscles which may also exacerbate stiffness.

David

Cleat Eastwood

hairy betty at number 72. best massage in town....and only a tenner a go.