5 Reasons Why Men Shouldn't Feel Weird About Getting A Massage
As a licensed massage therapist, I find it funny when guys, particularly ‘macho’ guys, seem to get weirded out about taking some downtime and letting someone else give their muscles a good work over. These guys find it particularly awkward when that ‘someone else’ happens to be another guy.
Toxic masculinity aside; grunting our way through a gym session with a ton of other guys remains acceptable because that’s considered ruggedly ‘hard work.’ It's considered a part of prioritizing our own wellbeing. Yet, if a guy were to skip just one, solitary sweat session to invest in an hour or two of being relaxed beyond belief at the hands of a skilled massage therapist, he'd probably feel guilty for not spending the time beating his body with weights.
Well, I've got news for you tough guy. While weight training is indeed essential to your overall wellbeing, self-care and muscle health is an equally vital part of looking after that wellbeing. Doesn't matter whether you're a lumberjack or a lawyer, you need to take time to give your body some TLC. Because, if you don't, you'll soon find yourself feeling empty and spent. Not only will you lose ground on your fitness goals, but you’ll also have no energy to do anything for the people who count on you most.
You know this makes sense.
Sometimes, though, other guys can try to make you feel as though getting a massage is a wussy, waste of time. Peer pressure being what it is, they think you should be doing something else (usually something akin to a Neanderthal). However, I’ve come up with five good points you can give to those douche-bags if they ever try to give you a hard time for getting your regular massage.
1. First, a good massage will help relieve muscle tension. Muscle tension can lead to chronic pain. From head and shoulder tension to backaches, which can sideline you from being your best. You want to perform at your best, don't you? Unresolved muscle tension can also limit mobility, reduce muscle efficiency, and negatively influence posture.
2. Massage helps you sleep! If your insomnia is starting to irritate you – here's your wake-up call. Tell those guys you’re going for a massage because lack of sleep is one of the most unhealthy things that can happen to you. You don’t need to go into great detail, but massage helps boost serotonin levels (which have been proven to support sound sleep). Naturally, being tired makes you so much less productive at work too, so a decent massage helps you work smarter…
3. Suffering from chronic pain? It’s an expensive business, isn’t it? If the cost of your pain meds and days off from work is starting to mount up, you may find that getting a regular massage might help you to reduce the number of drugs you need to take. Then you’ll be saving money and avoiding the side effects so many drugs can have, both of which put you at an advantage the other guys will notice.
4. Are you continually getting olds, coughs, and infections that you end up passing on to everyone else? Tell those guys that instead of becoming the office pariah for your germ spreading ways, you're gonna improve your defenses via massage instead. Massage, particularly deep tissue and Swedish, have been proven to support the lymphatic system which is the body’s key defense system against illness.
5. The guys you hang around with most want you to be happy, don’t they? If your answer is no; you need better friends. Improving mood is probably the #1 reason most people get a massage. After all, when you feel good, you can't help but share that good mood feeling. So, tell those guys to piss off; you're on your way to feeling better and finding a better mood, too.
Feel like getting that massage now? Book yours online here: bit.ly/JAOmassage
