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Should Massage Be Part of Your Weight Loss Plan?Written By: Erica Bliss Winston, LMBT
www.massage-therapy-cary.com |
Topic: Weight Loss |
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There is no question that having a massage makes you feel great. Massage can relieve stress, help you recover chronic pain 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. A massage aids in increasing blood circulation and in turn, increases the metabolic rate. 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. 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. 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 aid you in achieving your weight loss goals – IF you pay attention to your diet and exercise at the same time!
Perhaps the best way massage can enhance your weight loss is by increasing your sense of well-being,; shifting your attitude towards a more health-oriented approach to life, and by creating more of an awareness of your body and how it is getting stronger and more fit since you’ve changed your life-style.
Massage is also a great way to keep you on your new exercise program because your tired or sore muscles get regular relief from the benefits of massage! It also makes a terrific reward for reaching your exercise and nutrition goals! Schedule an hour of wonderful rewarding massage every month you stay on your plan, for every 5 pounds you lose, or for every 10-15 miles you walk!
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, or if you’ve never had a massage before, just remember to have your massage done by a licensed massage therapist. Be prepared to discuss your goals so your massage therapist can tailor the massage to suit you. |
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