In March this year I started to work from home as COVID19 started to make it’s presence known around the globe. This new way of working is perfect for the stay at home athlete to really add some serious fitness metrics. As you can see from the image below I entered lock-down in March just about as unfit as I had ever been in the last 2 years.  This was down to a number of factors including losing my running mojo and coming off some bad racing results including a DNF at the Delirious West 200 Miler.  ( http://deliriouswest200miler.com.au ) Truth be told I had fallen into this running hole at the end of 2019 after a second dose of man-flu. Now I know any Women reading this post, basically my Mum!, will have no sympathy  for man-flu but let me tell the risk is real and it is a killer , albeit maybe more a few days feeling very sorry for ourselves. Anyhow I was left with little or no energy and lost the will to train, just before a 200 mile race over four days. I kidded myself it was all mental and I could walk the Delirious but in the end the inevitable happened and I DNF’d after 17 hours. In my defense there was a few other contributing factors, like not eating and drinking enough and my Quads completely seizing up, as I have also said an ultra is an eating and drinking competition with running between aid stations thrown in to justify the event.

Anyhow, I digress, in March when lock down hit I was working from home and came across the idea of massage guns. I had heard good things about these items so treated myself to one. Well,  what a difference it made. Using the massage gun after every run allowed to me to start the next run with fresh legs, no longer did I hobble out of bed in the morning and stumble towards the door, I was like a Gazelle, leaping out of bed and bounding to the door. I found I could stride out again and my love of running returned which is pretty obvious from the chart below.

Another change I made was to spend more time, every Friday, hitting the trails for long runs and boy we have some great trails in Perth, all within a 30 minute drive from the city.  These runs were all about time on feet and just enjoying being out there, running in its purest form. (Of course we all have our GPS watches on so we could show everybody where we’d been ! ) These runs rekindled my love of trails and over the ten or so Friday’s I spent on the trails I had some great times. (I took a GoPro on some of these runs so if you search in my last 10 or so posts you find a link to some of them or use this link to get to my Vimeo page :- https://vimeo.com/manage/422054940/general ) There are many benefits of trail running but , for me, the main one is the extra all over body workout you get as you are continually watching your step, due to the terrain, and unable to fall into a ‘road running‘ mode where it’s just step after step in the same stance. After a good trail run your quads and hammys are normally screaming as they recover from the extra work they have been put under, you may even wake up the next day with a six pack albeit probably temporarily.

I have added my training before Delirious in February  from Strava ( you do use Strava right… http://www.strava.com ) and the last 6 weeks and it’s pretty clear the change in intensity.  First up is the 6 weeks before Delirious,  in February,  where I was in very dark place, training wise, mainly due to constantly tight hammys, making running unpleasant.  I did virtually no running in January,  although in my defence I was recovering from man-flu picked up in the first week.  I made a token effort the week before the event but, by this time, it was probably, definitely, too late.  Funnily enough my hammys survived the event but my quads gave up big time and after 17 hours and 112k I DNF’d .  Speaking to the race winner , Jon Pendse, he said he was in a similar position later in the race and was saved by someone offering him a massage gun. Once he used the gun he was good to go again and wound up winning !

Compare the pre-massage gun to the post massage gun training below.  No days off and lots of double days, even a training half marathon (1:36) on a Saturday followed by a training full marathon (3:11) the next day. It really is chalk and cheese, the difference. As well as the extra workload you are able to get through you also start each run feeling fresh and this is where the massage gun is vital. The reason we run is we love running and if you take away the love then running becomes a chore and this is why , eventually, so many people give it away. Their mind is still willingly but their body lets them down. I see now that is what was happening to me earlier in the year, I was constantly fatigued and because of that unable to really enjoy my running. I remember lots of times sitting in my changing room at work wondering what I was doing, after another terrible run. Trust me it’s not fun when you question the reason you do what you use to love to do.

Post massage gun I am back to the running machine I was 3-4 years ago, albeit slower of course but the passion is there and that’s whats important at this stage in my career, that is the end. I realise my days of PB’s are well and truly behind me but age group wins are still there for the taking and also the joy of racing is still there to be enjoyed.

So which massage gun to choose ? Well the choices are endless and vary vastly in price. Personally I went for an Australian product so I could return it if I had any problems, this is just my choose of course. The best thing to do is google ‘Best Massage guns for running’ and then give yourself the rest of the day to go though the options, or longer ! Of course , as always, price will probably dictate your choice but , as with all things, you probably get what you pay for so be careful.

I’ve attached an extract from an artivle in Runners World written by Cassie Shortsleeve, worth a read.  ( https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20865956/pulsating-products/ )

Let’s pretend that you’re a sore runner training for one of the world’s first marathons in ancient Greece. You visit a practitioner to heal your weak-feeling muscles. He places a plank of wood on your sore spot and, using your body as a stabilizer, begins sawing away. The hope: that the resulting vibrations reach your muscles and help alleviate pain.

That was the beginning of vibration therapy, and while it sounds a little horrifying, the intention was scientifically sound. We now know that the technique helps build strength and speed, improve flexibility, and loosen stiff muscles, says Matthew N. Berenc, director of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute. And, until recently, this was largely done through bulky platforms found in gyms (rather than tools with dangerously sharp edges—phew). If athletes wanted to get strong, they stood on top of the vibrating Power Plate machine and performed dynamic exercises like squats and lunges. When recovery was the goal, they draped a leg over the platform as it buzzed. Either way, the vibrations stimulated muscle fibers and the nervous system, priming the muscles for quicker reaction and greater strength and power output.

But let’s be real: Unless you’re a hardcore athlete, these machines often collect more dust than users. They also require a trip to the gym. That leaves a clear void in the market, which companies like Hyperice, TimTam, and TriggerPoint have recently filled. Their devices—mini jackhammers and vibrating foam rollers—can be used whenever, wherever.

The Buzz on a Little Buzz
When our bodies are exposed to vibration, muscles automatically twitch against it, says Michele Olson, Ph.D., an adjunct professor of sports science at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. It’s a defense strategy: Too much vibration can damage our organs, so muscles contract to dampen the blow. But low levels of pulsation can help muscles maintain their function and prime bones to lay down new cells while casting off old ones. So there’s a balance to be found and, for at least the last decade, that was achieved primarily through whole-body therapy (e.g., using a Power Plate).

The problem is that the research on whole-body vibration therapy has been mixed. A small study found that running economy—the energy needed to put in miles—increased after eight weeks of whole-body vibration training. But other research compared whole-body vibration to resistance training in endurance runners, and the results were equal. So it begs the question: Since you’re already doing strength-training, is it necessary to add more to your routine?

Some experts answer with a tentative “yes,” if vibration is delivered in a localized fashion. An exploratory study found that in recreational athletes, using a vibrating foam roller increased pain tolerance more than a traditional one did. Plus, when vibrations are applied directly to a muscle, certain proprioceptors (sensors in the muscle) cause tissues to relax and loosen, Berenc says. For runners, that could lead to an increased range of motion. Preliminary research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that when 19 people used the Hyperice Vyper, a vibrating foam roller, from their ankle to their knee, they experienced a greater increase in ankle range of motion than those who statically rolled.

When to Pump Up the Pulse
Manufacturers will tell you that at-home vibration therapy is great before, during, and after a workout. And while science still has to establish this for sure, there is a case to be made for each.

Before your workout, Berenc says, you can benefit from post-activation potentiation—a fancy way of saying your muscles are primed to work harder. “When the muscles work to control the vibrations, they recruit a high number of muscle fibers,” he explains. This way, when you start running, your muscles are already prepared and your stride could be more efficient, he says.

In the middle of a sweat session—say, in between sprints around the track—Jason S. Wersland, chiropractor and founder of TheraGun, says that quick, targeted vibration could signal glycogen to flood to a muscle. “It brings new blood and stored energy to the muscles, while also keeping you loose and limber so you can finish a workout feeling strong,” he says.

Berenc thinks it’s smart to vibe after you run, especially if you’re hitting the pavement five to six days a week. Running more often means more repetitive movement, which Berenc says should be counterbalanced in a way that allows the tissue to relax so that you can maintain range of motion. Ten minutes of vibration therapy each day is plenty to accomplish this; you can target three or four areas of the body each session to keep boredom at bay.

No matter when or how you use the device, though, most experts agree that it can’t hurt to give it a try. At the very least, you’ll get a mini massage—and we know those are awesome.

Pro tip: Newbie vibers should start on the lowest setting and gradually build intensity, limiting use to one or two times a week—and only vibing for 30 minutes max at a time—to avoid overuse injuries, says Berenc. “As your muscles become used to the stimulus, you can increase how often you use a device,” he adds. Pay attention to how you feel, and adjust accordingly.

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