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 loosing 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.
And remember, have fun!
For all your weight loss and healthy lifestyle needs, visit www.weightloss.com.au and become a happier, healthier you.
Scott Haywood
Many critics in have attacked low carb diets for only... Read More
Let's face when it comes to overweight and obesity there... Read More
The Liver The function of your kidneys is to filter... Read More
With summer completed and school back in session, it'll be... Read More
Have you ever wondered why some fat people can be... Read More
Abdominoplasty, or "tummy tuck" is a major surgical procedure that... Read More
Supporters of the Atkins Diet claim that a low carbohydrate... Read More
There's recently been a LOT in the weight loss news... Read More
A number of popular diets are focused on carbohydrates. Some... Read More
Causes of ObesityJust like there is no weight loss pill... Read More
The best exercises for quick weight loss in my opinion... Read More
Sometime, during the phase of rapid weight loss after gastric... Read More
Getting Started on The Clean DietIf you want to lose... Read More
Are you one of the 90 million Americans who are... Read More
In a culture of blame-shifting we often look for someone... Read More
Since gastric bypass weight loss surgery gives us a second... Read More
Food cravings are crafty -- they appear from nowhere and... Read More
The Atkins diet can be boring because of the limited... Read More
I did it without starving myself or taking pills. How... Read More
Students today are faced with the serious reality of unwanted... Read More
As a Master swimmer I am made painfully aware, each... Read More
Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases today. One... Read More
Control that sweet tooth. Remember that sweet things generally mean... Read More
Be Prepared. For the Boy Scouts it means you are... Read More
Today obesity, diabetes, and heart disease run through us at... Read More
A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
What does it take to lose weight?When it comes to... Read More
Actually, I was reading about fad diet and suddenly I... Read More
Food is not simply fuel to keep you going. Nor... Read More
Have you been surfing the web trying to find a... Read More
If you are looking for a way to lose fifty... Read More
There are currently over 100 billion dollars sold in weight-loss... Read More
The term 'thermogenic' refers to a group of drugs or... Read More
Very few Americans are satisfied with their current weights. There... Read More
If all we have to do is exercise to live... Read More
Yoga is wonderful for nurturing a state of mental and... Read More
Any true body transformation starts with self?discovery. It is an... Read More
Dieters have long searched for secret paths to easy weight... Read More
When you talk about losing weight you're really talking about... Read More
One pound of fat equals 3500 calories. Want to lose... Read More
More and more people are starting to recognize that they... Read More
If you've been enjoying life after gastric bypass surgery you... Read More
More than 70% of US adults are overweight and that... Read More
There are as many reasons you've given yourself to eat... Read More
When it comes to the matter of weight loss, peoples... Read More
Have you heard about coconut oil diets yet? People are... Read More
Fat burners have become very popular in today's society, especially... Read More
1. Increase your water intake to at least 1 gallon... Read More
In a gastric bypass the connection between he stomach pouch... Read More
Addicted to Restaurants Are you addicted to restaurants? So are... Read More
Weight Loss |