Balancing gym workouts with work

[Sam Da Man]

Hey folks,

So I've been thinking about joining a gym, and I went to a local one with a friend's guestpass on Saturday... so yesterday I was sore of course, and today I'm still a bit sore. Luckily I don't have to give a massage until tomorrow...

But I'm wondering, I don't know much about working out, and my understanding was that people who do it regularly settle into a kind of "always sore" state. Does this interfere with giving massage?

Does anyone here work out regularly? How does it mesh with seeing your clients?

 

[knittinmama]

I started the gym thing three months ago. (Haven't massaged real clients - ie: non-family) in about month and a half since I graduated school. But, when I have massaged family, I find I have more stamina than before, which is good. Also, my lower back hurts less.

I don't know about the always sore thing. I was sore for about 3 days and after that I've been fine, as long as I go regularly. I missed a week when I was studying for the boards and when I went back it was like ugh!!!

I had a nasty brachialis strain and pretty much just did the PRICE thing until it went away, lowered the weights I was using and started again, slowly. The first month I went about four times a week.

Now, I go about 3 times a week and alternate what part of my body I am working out.

If I do arms one day, the next time I go I'll do legs, etc. The days I work out arms, I do wrist curls - where you grab a light weight and flex your wrist. I do it with my arm supinated, seated with my forearms on my knees to not strain my whole arm. One thing I always have on is gloves with wrist guards, even when doing legs, you have to hold on to certain things.

I always do abs (just do less ab work on alternating days) and back strengthening. I have a bulging disc on L4 so, what I do is grab on and hang from a bar as long as I can with knees bent. It helps me stretch the spine.

Also, make sure to do plenty of stretches, holding them for about 15-30 seconds before and after working out. (LA Fitness, where I go, have these nifty stretching machines, you sit down, the seat rotates so that you can stretch yourself as close or as far as is physically possible for you.) Drink plenty of water (not sports drinks!).

After weight training (on relatively low weights and at least 3 sets of 20 reps, since I want to tone not build mass.) I hit an eliptical machine and do cardio for about 15-30 mins. Then hit the sauna (while in the sauna petrissage the muscles I worked that day - the ones that I can reach and don't seem obscene for me to grab, that is. ) and then hop in the pool to cool off.

Hope that helps, if anyone can suggest anything I should do differently or anything that you think I am doing wrong, gimme a shout out. Always willing to learn.

Jackie

 

[dot]

I do use a gym regularly, normally monday to friday.
I both use the treadmill for running and do resistance (weight) training.
what you really need to do is build up weights and times very slowly from a relatively easy level. Avoid competing with anyone else, the session is about you and where you are at.
If you are new to this you should get an instructor to show you proper technique and set you a full body program.
Minor soreness can be expected if you are progressing to larger weights.
Major soreness/injury will come from going too hard too soon and not listening to your body.
Doesent interfere with massaging
I got back to the gym January last year after a few years off and it has been hugely beneficial with strength and dropping 16 kg

 

[Saza]

If you have access to a swimming pool, swimming can help with post workout soreness.
Also make sure to stretch after your workouts. 30mins or more of stretching. Take your time and be thorough.

 

[Emerald]

working out

This is a problem many people have, jumping into a workout without letting their body get used to it. I am a NSCA certified personal trainer also and think that a good exercise routine is very important to giving a great massage. To avoid making your muscles too sore after working out (there is something known as DOMS: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness that happens when you exceed your recommended workout load) you should start out low and work up to heavier loads as your body adjusts. The first few sessions I have with clients I focus on getting good technique, this is the time I often see other trainers let clients blast out those reps during a first session but then the clients never come back. The most gains made to lifting weight in the beginning is more of a nerve memory activation rather then muscle gain and if you can train the nerves that fire causing the muscles to contract then when the muscles are ready for bigger loads everything runs smoother. So I would suggest lighter weights and more reps for MTs.

One thing I love for my hands are the "taichi" balls, I feel that using them daily helps my hands stay flexible.

There is alot of debate in the Trainers literiture about the value of stretching, its not as cut & dry as everyone thought for so long. I do recommend yoga or tai chi which involves lots of slow movements and has a good dose of meditation built in.

Dale

 

[narsha84]

How do you determine your "recommended workout load"?

Can MTs build some mass without interfering with their work?

 

[Pompal 09.]

Building mass?

Ego, I'm not a fan of just building mass, I was into bodybuilding in the 80s, nowadays I'm much more into building strength rather then bulk. I have known some very flexible bodybuilders, but don't think you want to go that direction and for women it is very difficult to build mass.

Have you ever worked out with weights before? If so I'd suggest you start lifting about 2/3s the weight you think you should be using. Your muscles/nerves do remember some of what you did in the past. If you haven't lifted I'd start you at about 1/2 the weight you think you should be using. Then I'd increase your loads about 10% each week after that. It won't feel like much at first but what you're training in the beginning is your nerves, getting them to talk to your muscles better. Keeping good form so as not to injure yourself and not to get your muscles so sore that you can't do normal activities.

Dale

 

[bookseller]

I want strength mainly, but if you saw me, you would say, "That boy needs some mass." Plus, I live in the Castro, and I'm starting to believe them when they say biceps are pretty.

I've never worked out before, so I guess I'll start at the lowest setting on the machines, because they don't go as low as half of what I used ;-)

 

[??? What-a-burger ???]

Balance

Ego,

When you start working out make sure you don't work just the biceps but spend as much time on the triceps which is more then 2x the size of the biceps. That goes for all the muscle groups this is called opposition training,
work bis/tris together chest/back, quads/hams etc.

I know where you live beauty is very important and you'll find by working opposing groups you'll stay much more symetrical and catch more eyes *S

 

[Pompal 09.]

I agree with Qiwalker, starting low is the way to go and only building up slowly. Bear in mind that the nerve activation strength gain happens quickly but muscle and tendon growth lags behind so give them time to grow.
DOMS is painful and no amount of stretching or massage will fix it, it just takes time, so listen to what you body is telling you and take it steady.

 

[cymraesgwyllt]

Yes, of course. Thanks for giving me the bit of info, about the relative sizes.

One thing I'm worried about is building my pecs without backsliding on my posture. It's still not where I need it to be... but if I'm working my pecs regularly, I'll certainly be stretching them more, so that's good.

 

[fishmoo]

Just make sure you are working rhomboids and other back muscles as well to balance out with pecs, and yes stretch well.

 

[Honeyeyes]

You know it's funny, I've heard all of these suggestions from people that "know"... First thing's first... DIET!!! And then decide on what you want to do... build mass or cut down. If you are a small frame, personally, I would recommend build some mass. As far as therapists not building mass. I could show you pictures of me, that might surprise you. I'm not as huge as the other guys in the gym, but I am definitely not a light weight. 27 inch thighs and 16 inch arms aren't too bad. I'd like to go bigger. As far as women, putting on mass is only possible if you bump up your testoserone levels (take saw palmetto or pygeum africanum.... or both :wink: ) The same can be used for men as well. I prefer to take it right before bed, that way all the protein absorbs very well. Another thing, check a protein calculator, find out how much you should be having, then find out how much carbs you should be eating based on your body weight and what your goals are. http://www.bodybuilder.com will become your best friend. You aren't trying to turn into a bull, but everyone starts from something small that they are not proud of and works their way up to what they like. So those guys and gals on that website will have LOTS of words of wisdom, they know their anatomy also, they're not just blocks of beef. Sports drinks are not bad, just do your research, many of them have extremely pure ingredients in them that I find to be VERY helpful. After weight training for these past several years, I have found that more gains are seen from diet and less from exercise.

But as a massage therapist you have a very huge advaneforum.xxxe to your arsenal... Your knowledge of the human body.. specifically the muscles and all of their movements. Use that to your advaneforum.xxxe as much as possible, but do not do more than 3 - 4 workouts on the same muscle if you're looking for fat burn and 2 - 3 workouts on a muscle if you're looking for bulking. Break up your workouts 2 to 3 groups in a day. For example, I highly recommend doing one upper body muscle and one lower body muscle every day, this is just my own choice and nail some abs, cardio or both along with it. I prefer to workout late at night, then come home and eat a couple of meals right before I go to bed. This gives my body the opportunity to concentrate strictly on building muscle and not keeping me upright :roll:

Other than that, start off light and work your way up. And quite possibly the most important rule to remember is this: Muscles are lazy, if you don't MAKE them work, then they will not grow. And they will grow in direct conjunction to how hard you make them work. If you workout consecutively and religiously, eventually the soreness just stops, you get to a point where your body deals with the lactic acid biproducts, they are just leftovers from burning off all that ATP. Drink lots of water it'll help clean you out. Find some decent multi vitamins.. Personally, I prefer to get my vitamins from my food, they absorb perfectly... Supplements should be used for the stuff that is hard to find in foods. Try out http://www.WHFoods.com for some good veggies... Remember, RAW, not cooked!

And yes, your workouts are about you, but you can learn a LOT by watching a few of the other guys in the gym, just make mental notes. Ohhhh yea, go and get Arnold Schwarzapotthead's Bodybuilding encyclopedia... Everything you could possibly need to know. Careful.. it's a biggun :wink:

Have fun with your workouts!!!! And PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR DIET!!!!

Ohh yea, as far as stretching is concerned... I'm not a big fan of stretching.. In fact, I will only stretch if I find something is out of whack, which RARELY ever happens. If you pay attention to your form and workout properly, you will be getting your stretch during your workout. As a beginner, I do recommend you stretch in the beginning, but if you choose to start tackling heavier weight, then you can cut back on it. In my experience, too much flexibility is not a good idea with lots of weight...Causes strains, sprains and tears. No point in putting your muscles out of commission for a few days. Since I cut back on the stretching, I have only strained two muscles in the last two years... Before that it was almost a weekly affair. This last paragraph is really just my own experience and my own opinion, take it or leave it... up to you. But listen to your body!!

 

[hagerstown_chic]

try this site

http://exrx.net/

I find this site better for the average person that wants to start working out and does not want to become a bodybuilder. It has lots of articles on exercise techniques, whys & why nots, diet & nutrition as well as calculators for target heart rate, BMI (which is for my money worthless BMI itself not the calculator). The info is based on research not just the word from the locker room like alot of the stuff you see in newstand magazines

http://exrx.net/Questions/FullBodyWorkout.html
this link will answer alot of your questions about starting out.

Good luck