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Book Review - Self-Massage for Athletes by Rich Poley

Category Book Review Rich Poley Self-Massage for Athletes

So while it'd be nice to have your own personal masseuse like Lance Armstrong, realistically it's not gonna happen.  Self-Massage for Atheletes by Rich Poley shows how you can effectively be your own massage therapist to get rid of those nagging aches and pains before, during, and after training...

A picture named M2

Contents:
Part 1 - Why Every Athlete Needs Massage: Your Introduction to Self-Massage; Advantages of Self-Massage; Benefits of Massage; Why Your Body Needs Massage; Sports Massage; Endorphins; Massaging Your Muscles
Part 2 - Learning Self-Massage: Seven Simple Massage Strokes; Rules, Tips, and Pain; A Sample Massage; When To Use Self-Massage; Improv Massage
Part 3 - Going Deeper - Getting More from Your Massage: Acupressure; Trigger Points; Shower Massage; Massage Tools; Feeling Even Better; When Not to Self-Massage; Coaches and Personal Trainers; The Last Word on Feeling Great
Notes; References; Index; Afterword

Therapeutic self-massage is one of those things you probably don't give much thought to, even though you do it unconsciously.  When your neck is stiff and you reach up to rub it, that's self-massage.  Aching hands from spending too much time on the keyboard?  You start to rub them to make them feel better.  Poley brings all that to your attention and allows you to focus on what's really going on when you start massaging a body part for pain relief.  He starts out with a good explanation of the benefits without getting into a lot of technical and medical jargon.  From there, you learn seven basic massage techniques (glide, squeeze, squeeze and roll, press, press and roll, drum, and rock & roll) as well as when each is most effective.  Add to that the sample massage routines, and you're pretty well ready to go in terms of trying out your newly-learned skills.  He also gets into some of the more unconventional practices like acupressure.  This is not a definitive guide on those techniques, but it's a good introduction if you're ready to explore the subject further...

If this is an area of interest to you as a weekend warrior or a serious athlete, you'd do well with this book.  On top of good information, it's esthetically pleasant to read with the layout of pictures and text.  Nicely done...

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