Science of Muscle Growth & Philosophy of BodyHaul Massage
Building of Muscle
Heavy training cycles produce microscopic damage, micro-trauma, or tiny tears to the muscle and fascial tissue. Your body then repairs and replaces damaged and torn muscle fibers through a cellular process where it fuses muscle fibers together to form new muscle protein strands or myofibrils. These repaired myofibrils increase in thickness and number to create muscle hypertrophy.
This is muscle growth.
During the recovery phase, strength adjustment also occurs. This enables the athlete to increase their weight limits and repetitions, assists the muscle tissue in removing waste and providing nutrients, and then pushes nutrients into muscle tissue, rebuilding broken-down tissues.
This makes the athlete stronger.
Facilitating Assisted Recovery
The right massage for an athlete working to build muscle mass and definition is one that focuses on healing both the body and mind of the athlete.
The Body:
Without the healing and repair, there is no muscle growth. Healing treatments will help the athlete more rapidly recover from workouts, make significant gains in their set goals, and promote a healthier appearance. This is done by helping the body do its job, elevating the body’s own recovery system, and not by further breaking the body down.
A therapist properly trained to work with athletes must also pay attention to the muscle mass and adjoining muscle groups and how they are or are not effectively working together. Also, the athlete’s current joint strength, tendons, and ligaments’ health all together assist or fail the athlete in training and body movements, translating into the athlete’s ability to develop an overall proportional and symmetrical physique.
The Mind:
If an athlete’s progress is slowing down even though they continue to invest in their diet and gym time, it’s likely the athlete is "hitting a wall" emotionally. This wall can deter an athlete from having continued motivation, can bring on unexpected depression or irrationally mood swings, and ultimately cause them to fail and quit.
Helping an athlete take a short break from their reality gives them a chance to reboot their mental state, step back from their perceived targets, and reposition themselves to ensure they are intentionally placed in the path of their favored goals.
The BodyHaul way to begin each treatment:
Each BodyHaul appointment begins with a thorough intake before the athlete’s session. Reviewing with an athlete where they are at in their journey, what they are struggling with both physically as well as emotionally, and what they hope to achieve with the session.
Some questions asked each visit will likely include:
Are there areas of your body that are experiencing excessive soreness and inflexibility, and do you have any new injuries that BodyHaul will need to be aware of?
Note: The soreness is most commonly a result of the intentional damage to the muscle and fascial tissue, and the inflexibility is a result of the muscle fibers between the masses clinging to each other.
Note: The best and fastest way to remedy this is to increase the flow of blood in and around the individual areas of muscle tissue surrounding the affected areas.
Have you changed your intended short- and long-term goals, and where are you feeling like you are currently at on your journey?
Note: An athlete’s needs are specifically determined by where they are currently at in their physical expectations. An athlete who has just started or recently changed their workout routine can be a completely different needed treatment for an athlete who is days away from stepping onto the stage.
What percentage of each: relaxation, recovery, and rehabilitation are you wanting and needing today?
Note: The need for each may determine the type of massage that would best benefit the athlete.
Some of the BodyHaul Massage Options:
Some of the types of massages available at BodyHaul that can be utilized alone or many in combination with one another:
Fusion Massage:
This is a massage designed to the athlete’s individual therapeutic needs. It can include a mixture of massage modalities such as: Swedish, Hawaiian, Sport, Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Acupressure, and gentle stretching. This massage will also likely include the use of hot and cold towel packs and essential oils for the maximum healing results. This massage will include direct deep pressure or friction applied across the grain of the muscles. (Between 60 to 120 minutes)
Body Scrub Massage:
A body scrub is a popular body treatment that is like a facial for the body. This massage exfoliates and hydrates the athlete’s skin, leaving it smooth and soft. It is done with mildly abrasive materials like salt or sugar mixed with aromatic and therapeutic essential oils. The exfoliation is followed by an application of more essential oils to purify the skin. This is a wet massage that is both healing and relaxing.
(Between 75 to 120 minutes)
Hot Oil Massage:
A hot oil massage is an excellent way to promote relaxation and soothe muscle fatigue while opening the pores and softening the skin. This massage provides both stress relief and relaxation. This massage is a mixture of both soft or deep tissue massage. While in the warmed room, hot (very warm) oils are dripped, drizzled, and splashed on various parts of the body in no particular order. The goal of this massage is to incorporate a highly personal and relaxing experience. The client is encouraged to relax and "let go" to hopefully promote not only the physical but emotional release of energy. This massage will include long muscle strokes (flowing hula movements) with the use of hands, forearms, and elbows to stimulate the flow of energy and synchronize clients' breath and heartbeat.
(Between 75 to 120 minutes)
Custom ADD-ONS to any massage treatment:
Lymphatic Draining:
Athletes often have issues with joint swelling, hormonal imbalances, and other thyroid-related conditions. These are often a result of erratic sleep patterns and constant changes in diet that can throw their systems out of sync.
Healing and recovery can be assisted by the manual draining of the lymphatic system.
Abdominal Massage:
Most athletes struggle with a mixture of digestive system issues . A properly trained massage therapist can assist with an athlete’s overall gut health.
The gut microbiota is the collection of microbes that live inside your intestines, where they help you digest food, absorb nutrients, and keep harmful bacteria at bay. A healthy gut is essential in gaining muscle mass, changing body weight, and feeling energetic throughout the day. In addition, gut health is essential in the body’s ability to absorb nutrients and determines how it reacts to different foods and substances.
For example, poor gut health will increase the likelihood that the foods you eat will be processed into fat by your body. An effective abdominal massage can boost digestive function, relieve constipation, release emotional and physical stress, improve the body’s immune system strength, and improve an athlete’s physical posture.
A WARNING about dangerous fad treatments
The use of fad treatments by the use of apparatuses to do “muscle scraping” and other forms of “treatment” that tear and damage the athlete's epidermis, dermis, and muscle tissue and are EXTREMELY counterproductive to an athlete’s progress.
These treatments are not recognized by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMA) or any medical board, have no reliable documented evidence that they work, and are unfortunately a growing fad in treatments for athletes. These tools require little or no training, the equipment is often not properly cleaned or sanitized between clients, and if the “therapist” using them fails to screen for preexisting health conditions, is unaware of what types of preexisting conditions to be concerned about, can cause lifelong damage to an athlete’s body.
These "treatments" may feel good for a short period of time (most likely because of the massive amounts of hormones and the body's own pain chemicals being rushed to these damaged areas) but NOT because any healing or repair has happened. They provide LITTLE OR NO long-term benefit to the body, and can inhibit the athlete’s ability to gain muscle mass.
Bodywaxing for Men
About Waxing
Waxing and hair removal is not limited to just athletes and performers but is now considered a basic part of a man’s grooming regimen.
While men's waxing might not be the most pain-free way to go about removing hair from your body, waxing, for most, produces the most gratifying and longest-lasting results of all types of hair removal.
Male waxing has been portrayed as a painful procedure, but with the proper products and a trained esthetician, waxing should not be feared.
Men may choose a full-body waxing, or you may pick and choose which body parts you want the hair removal from.
Many waxing salons will choose time and savings over the best results for their clients. BodyHaul uses the best products and follows up with the extensive aftercare recommendations for the individual to follow.
Waxing maintenance for men can be very different than for women. The BodyHaul client will be advised on the best ways to maintain their waxing, which is just as important as their treatment in the clinic. Helpful information is provided before, during, and after waxing treatment.
Men’s Waxing Menu
Eyebrows
Nose
Ears
Full or Partial Arms
Underarms
Full or Partial Legs
Full or Partial Chest
Back
Buttocks
Full or Partial Manzilian
Full Body
The Manzilian Waxing
Full Manzilian (male Brazilian waxing) includes the removal of some or all of the hair on the pubic mound as well as any hair on your shaft, scrotum, buttocks, and anus area.
1/2 Manzilian (FRONTside) includes the removal of some or all of the hair on the pubic mound as well as any hair on your shaft and scrotum OR (BACKside) just buttocks and anus area.
Note: Manzilian isn't normally taught in beauty/esthetician schools, and an esthetician learns by experience alone. Make sure you are waxed by someone who is both comfortable with the procedure as well as experienced and knows what they are doing, and not learning or practicing on you!