Self-Massage for Athletes   

A Revolutionary Approach to Improved Fitness and Health

 

Self-Massage for Swimmers

Few activities will do more to help your strokes in the water than the massage strokes you perform out of the water. Massage provides powerful relief from the sore muscles that often slow swimmers down. Massage speeds recovery, prevents injury, and helps you feel better fast. Few activities demand more from your upper body than swimming.


Who

If you swim regularly, you probably need a massage after every hard workout. But unless you do it yourself, you’re not getting one. The purpose of this page is to help you get all the massages you need by describing a basic massage routine for swimmers. We’ll massage: shoulders, lats, pecs, and neck.


Why

After a swim, sore muscles are evidence you need a massage. By improving circulation, massage feeds and cleans the cells that got hungriest and dirtiest during your workout. By squeezing, pressing, and drumming--you direct your blood to the muscles that need it.


Massage releases trigger points, those tiny knots that form in muscles and reduce strength and range of motion. Most swimmers have been told to stretch but that rarely gets out the knots. By pressing directly on a muscle, massage stretches it, releasing the trigger points that are impairing performance. Thus, massage delivers a precise and often more effective stretch than traditional stretching.   


7 Massage Strokes

Glide your hand over your skin to warm it up.

Squeeze a muscle to warm it and improve circulation.

Squeeze & Roll: while squeezing a muscle roll or pull the muscle to improve circulation.

Press a muscle by pushing your hand, or massage tool into it to release trigger points.

Press & Roll: While pressing a muscle, roll your hand or fist into it in small circles for an even deeper more effective massage.

Drum the side of your hand, fist, or palm into a muscle to wake it up.

Rock & Roll: Dance massages your internal organs, put on some music and try it.


Massage Routine for Swimmers

  1. Bullet Shoulders (massage each shoulder 3 to 5 minutes)

  2. ✓ Have a seat, roll up your sleeves, take off your shirt, relax your shoulders, and get comfortable.

  3. ✓ Let’s consider everything from your lower neck to your upper arm your shoulder, including your trapezius muscles and shoulder sockets.

  4. ✓ Warm your shoulder of choice by gliding your hand over the entire area.

  5. ✓ When it’s good and warm start gently squeezing your shoulder,  move from your shoulder socket towards your neck. Vary the intensity and location of each squeeze until you’ve covered the territory about 3 times.

  6. ✓ Now grab your trapezius muscle, it feels like a rope, and lives between your neck and shoulder. When you’ve found it, squeeze it between your thumb and four fingers, pull it out a little and give it a little roll.

  7. ✓ Relax your trapezius, feel how much more relaxed it gets when you lie down on your back. Don’t just sit there reading, get on the floor. Squeeze & roll that trap a few times.

  8. ✓ Then press 3 or 4 fingers into your shoulder, moving from your neck towards your arm, short 1 to 2 second presses until you’ve covered it a few times. 

  9. ✓ If you want to go deeper still, try pressing & rolling your fingers into your shoulder, again covering the entire area.

  10. ✓ If you want to go deeper still you’ll need a massage tool. I like the Knobble II for this. Press & roll the tool into your shoulder area until you know you’re not going to feel any better than you do now, then stop.

  11. ✓ Repeat this whole wonderful massage on your other shoulder.

  12. ✓ After massaging both shoulders, that may be all you need, but if you want more, let’s massage your:


  1. Bullet Lats (latissimus dorsi)

  2. ✓ Sit down for this and glide your hand over one of your lats to warm that muscle up. 

  3. ✓ The more you swim the larger your lats are likely to be and the more they need massaging. Relax by breathing into your lats. Sounds weird but do it.

  4. ✓Squeeze your lat gently but firmly, varying the area you squeeze ever so slightly until you have covered the entire area right up to your scapula. 

  5. ✓ Squeeze & roll your lat by squeezing it and giving it a little tug and moving your hand in circles. Again vary the area you squeeze until you’ve got it covered and it feels pretty damn good. 

  6. ✓ When you’re ready move onto your other lat.

  7. ✓ After massaging both lats let’s go to your:


  1. Bullet Pecs (pectoralis major)

  2. ✓ These beasts can grow pretty large on swimmers. Warm them up by gliding your hand over them. Simultaneously massage both pecs until they’re warm.  

  3. ✓ Now make two fists and press your knuckles into both pecs. Move your fists in tiny increments until you’ve covered both pecs a couple of times. 

  4. ✓ Try pressing and rolling the muscles by placing your knuckles on your pecs, then press and roll your fists overt them. Repeat this process until you’ve massaged your entire chest in this way.

  5. ✓ Finally, the best part, drum your chest with your fist, Tarzan style and yell if you like. Make it loud and fulfilling. 

  6. ✓ After massaging your pecs move on to that stiff


  1. Bullet Neck

  2. ✓ You can sit, you can stand, you can lie on your back.

  3. ✓ Glide your hands over your neck until it’s warm. 

  4. ✓ Press all five fingers from both hands into opposite sides of your neck, continue pressing while slightly varying the location of the press until you’ve covered both sides and the back of your neck.

  5. ✓ Then place your knuckles on opposite sides of your neck and roll your fists slightly varying intensity and speed. Vary location until you’ve again covered your entire neck.

  6. ✓ Experiment with alternately stretching and relaxing the muscle in your neck while massaging them, continue to do what feels good until your neck can’t feel any better.

  7. ✓ Then move your chin toward your chest and drum the back of your neck with your fingertips or knuckles experimenting with intensity and speed.


  1. Bullet Finishing Touches

  2. ✓ Two final strokes to apply: drumming and rock & roll.

  3. ✓ Drum or tap your hands against your body, begin with your feet and work your way up to your head, play your body like a drum. This stimulating stroke can be done with open hands, fists or the side of your hands in the familiar karate chop style.

  4. ✓ Rock & Roll is an even more stimulating stroke and a great way to get ready for your next activity unless it’s napping. Just put on some music and go to it.

  5. ✓ Dancing  gets your blood moving and massages your internal organs.

  6. ✓ Most swimmers devote 10 to 15 minutes on this whole routine, but you should take as long as you need.

  7. ✓ That’s all there is to it, all you have to do is do it.


  1. Bullet The Whole Enchilada

  2. ✓ Swimming involves more than shoulders, lower back, lats, and neck. As you’d expect from the ideal workout, swimming works nearly every muscle in your body.

  3. ✓ Pay attention to what other parts of you are calling out for a massage and answer their call.

  4. ✓ Check out the routines for other sports to experiment with massages for your back, feet, calfs, glutes, hamstrings, abs, hips, face, and any other part of you that needs it.


Conclusion

After you’ve massaged your shoulders, lats, pecs, and neck a few times using the above routine, you’ll realize: There’s not one single perfect massage routine. Each massage you perform will be an improvisation based on your current needs. Your body changes after every swim, and your massage routine should change as well. Your muscles will learn to direct your hands and your fingers will learn to listen. Practice massage regularly and you’ll feel a big improvement in your swimming.


Feedback

Please let me know how I can make this page even more helpful.







Every Good Workout Deserves a Massage

To get comfortable with the strokes and routine, first practice them with this  page in view.

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