The advantage to a well-kneaded (hur hur) massage post-workout is to quell muscle soreness. Ever the extraordinary machine, the body is susceptible to wear and tear. When you pump iron, sprint or compete in World’s Strongest Man (I mean, it's possible)—any strenuous physical sport (sorry, poker, another time)—there are small-scale damages to the muscle fibres. That happens when you’re engaged in eccentric exercise; carry a weight that’s more than what you usually carry and your muscle fibres lengthen as they contract under load.
Unlike acute muscle soreness, which is the ache that you get immediately after a taxing exercise, your body can produce something called delayed onset muscle soreness, or the probably- nothing-to-worry-about acronym DOMS.
Massage helps to improve blood flow that can aid in healing. If you can’t stand your aching muscles to be massaged by a stranger (a weird way to refer to your significant partner, by the by, hur hur), there’s the option of an Osim chair. But since they don’t advertise with us, here’s another option: ever consider getting a massage gun?
These percussive devices are rather ubiquitous in athletic recovery. We liken them to power tools that issue rapid-fire pulses to the inflamed area. In the bloated market of massage guns, we tried out Hydragun which not only worked as well as it should but is also cheaper than its contemporaries like Theragun.
An aerospace-grade aluminium chassis houses a high-torque Smoothdrive motor that delivers up to 3,200RPM of pulsations. It comes with seven massage heads and a battery life (up to six-ish hours of power) that’s double the industry standard. Weighing in at about 1kg, the Hydragun is ergonomic to hold with a 99-degree handle that’s wrapped in a sweat-proof nanosilicone grip.
Oh, and it’s quiet (50dB!). Even quieter than my phone on silent mode (which sounds like a mouse trying to fight its way out of my tote bag, if you’re curious). This means that as the knots loosen or the soreness dissipates, your grunts of pleasure will be the only sound heard in the privacy of your room; a small price to pay for your roomie’s expected assumption for a faster recovery.
The Hydragun retails at SGD399 and is available at hydragun.sg.
