Author Topic: TENS Machine and Massage Thumper  (Read 8965 times)

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fast does lie

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TENS Machine and Massage Thumper
« on: September 13, 2017, 10:51:08 am »
+1
As a performance athlete, feeling great and having no muscle tension is so important. It is so time consuming to use foam, pipes, lacrosse balls, and even physical therapists to help you; time money etc.

Is the TENS machine 1) better 2) just as effective/safe 3) can be used instead of massage/foam roll?



How about the massage thumper machine?



Seems like it can save a lot of time and money if they are affective, which is being debated a lot all over the internet.....
33yrs | 24in SVJ | >45% BF | 227LB | 5'9 | 7'5 reach | 400lb max squat paused | 5'8 wingspan | 26in RVJ

Coming back from 2 years of inactivity!

Goal: Maintain 385-405lb squat while cutting down to 165 LB

maxent

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Re: TENS Machine and Massage Thumper
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2017, 01:08:22 pm »
0
i'll let acole make the case but i find mine indispensable. Waiting for amazon to come to au so i can order a good quality one not the kogan piece of shit i got which takes 4 AAA batteries that take forever to charge and you have to remove them and stick them in a charger etc. It's a real piece of shit. Having said that, i abide by everyone/anyone training having one handy.
Training for sub 20 5K & 40" RVJ & 170kg BS @ 85kg bw. log entry template

AGC

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Re: TENS Machine and Massage Thumper
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2017, 10:36:53 pm »
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^He's talking about the TENS and yes, I highly recommend it. It's great for lower back, glutes. It's basically an easy way to get the blood flowing in that area while sitting on a couch or whatever. The way it works is explained well here:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/325107-overview

Don't use it as a crutch though, just an extra tool in the toolbox. You still need to directly target the muscles with deep tissue massage now and again.

I used to have a thumper, it's definitely handy, but mine died pretty quick because I really hammered it, and others I know have had similar experiences with them not lasting very long. If you can splash out on a physio-grade one, it might last longer.

AGC

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Re: TENS Machine and Massage Thumper
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2017, 06:47:15 am »
+2
TY,

I had been spending almost 1-2 hours a day sometimes last few months just trying to release muscle tension really good.

You said don't use it as a crutch, how much would you recommend to use the TENS and how much to still foam roll/massage/stretch?

TY

You could use the TENS once a day for 15mins after a workout as needed. For instance, if you squat heavy, stick two pads on your spinal erectors and two on your glute medius afterwards and ramp it up to near max for 15 mins (your settings will vary, but use high Hz). Back should feel pretty good the next day. Or if you hammer the Bulgarian split squat, do the quads. There's videos for the best placement for each muscle group.

I just do foam rolling to warm up occasionally. I do 15-20mins a night with a hard rubber ball on hip flexors, glute medius, spinal erectors, then wrap up the knees with compression bands for two minutes and do a squat sit, then ball on the shoulders and back. Then if there's particular issues, do stuff for them. No need to do more than 1hr, just wasting time. Be targeted and spend the rest of the time sleeping.

maxent

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Re: TENS Machine and Massage Thumper
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2017, 03:18:05 am »
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I agree with post workout. Good recco
Training for sub 20 5K & 40" RVJ & 170kg BS @ 85kg bw. log entry template

AGC

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Re: TENS Machine and Massage Thumper
« Reply #5 on: September 19, 2017, 03:26:10 am »
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Yeah that is the case. I think because the degree of tension you have in certain muscles will differ and you just have to trial-and-error it.

Coges

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Re: TENS Machine and Massage Thumper
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2017, 06:02:06 am »
+2
I hear Hitachi make a really good targeted massager. Apparently does the job in record time.









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vag

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Re: TENS Machine and Massage Thumper
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2017, 09:07:10 am »
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0m0ycTS_H8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0m0ycTS_H8</a>
Target training paces (min/km), calculated from 5K PR 22:49 :
Easy run : 5:48
Tempo run : 4:50
VO2-max run :4:21
Speed form run : 4:02

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it's the biggest trick in the run game.. go slow to go fast. it doesn't make sense until it smacks you in the face and you're like ....... wtf?