There is no question that having a massage makes you feel great. Even
having a deep-tissue, sports massage makes you feel wonderful
afterwards.
Massage can relieve stress, help you recover from hard
physical activity or injury and even reduce anxiety, but can it help you
to achieve your weight loss goals?
Research shows that massage
can have a positive effect on your muscle-building capabilities and
fitness levels, which in turn increases your capacity to control or
loose weight.
Healthy strong muscles burn calories and give you
the freedom to participate in all sorts of sports and activities that
can help you burn excess calories and improve your overall fitness and
wellbeing.
Massage has the following benefits that can directly influence your ability to control or loose weight:
1.
Massage has been shown to improve circulation and the supply of
nutrition to the muscles.
Massage increases the interchange of vital
substances between the blood and tissue cells, which increases tissue
metabolism. After muscles are exercised, vital nutrients must be
supplied to them so that they can recover and rebuild themselves.
Massage maximizes the supply of these nutrients and oxygen though
increased blood flow, which helps the muscles to grow and burn more
calories as a result.
2. Massage improves your muscles' range of
motion and their flexibility. This allows them to maintain maximum power
and performance while active, and burn the maximum number of calories
in the process.
Improved range of motion and flexibility also reduces muscle soreness during periods of recovery and muscle repair.
Having
a wide range of motion and maximum muscle flexibility also reduces the
danger of experiencing injuries during exercise which can severely limit
activity, exercise and weight loss progress.
3. Massage helps to
shorten the recovery time needed between your workouts. Waste products
such as lactic and carbonic acid build up in muscles during and after
exercise. Increased circulation to these muscles helps to eliminate
toxic debris buildup caused by these waste products and in doing so
shorten recovery time.
Shortened recovery time means you can
safely have more workouts over a given period of time, which in turn
means that you have the opportunity to burn more total calories in your
effort to achieve your individual weight loss goals.
4. Massage
can also help reduce the chance of you over-training. Massage has a
relaxing effect on the muscles and a sedative effect on the nervous
system. By helping you to rest, which is a very important element of any
exercise program, massage can reduce the likelihood of you experiencing
over-training syndrome, which is known to limit your ability to build
strong healthy muscles and therefore loose weight with maximum
efficiency.
5. In addition to all of the above, massage may
directly aid in fat loss. According to some research studies, massage is
thought to be able to burst the fat capsule in subcutaneous tissue so
that the fat exudes and becomes absorbed. In this way, combined with
proper nutrition and exercise, massage may actually help in weight loss.
6.
As we have already touched upon, massage helps prevent and heal
injuries. By stretching connective tissue, massage improves circulation
to help prevent or break down adhesions and scar tissue that result from
muscle tears and other common muscle injuries.
Massage also influences
the excretion of certain fluids (nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur) that aid
in tissue repair. Fast and effective recovery from injuries means that
you can begin exercising sooner after suffering an injury and getting
your weight loss progress back on track.
So there you have it.
Massage has a lot of benefits that can indirectly and possibly even
directly aid you in achieving your weight loss goals.
Regular
massage is just as important a component as regular workouts and correct
nutrition in any comprehensive fitness and weight loss program, which
is great news for those of us who thought that exercising and losing
weight was all hard work! Remember, weight loss is all about leading a
balanced lifestyle and massage is an essential part of any balanced
lifestyle.
If you haven't had a massage lately, what are you
waiting for? Get on the phone and make yourself a booking. If you
haven't had a massage before, just remember to have your massage done by
a qualified massage therapist.
If you are unsure about a massage
practitioners qualifications and experience, ask for referrals,
professional training information, and make sure they are certified by
reputable agency or institution.
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