If you’re anything like me, you’ve been spending the last few months splitting your time between working from your couch, baking bread, and sweating through endless exercise routines that take you way longer than they should to finish. By now, I’ve built up a decent workout schedule, but I always ignore my muscles. Taking care of your muscles by doing things like stretching and foam rolling is incredibly important and can help with recovery time, range of motion, flexibility, and pain relief. I know it helps and yet, I just don’t do it. Which is why I finally started letting Therabody’s percussive massage guns take care of it for me.
Once a staple in gyms and physical therapy offices, percussive massage guns have truly hit their stride due to their ease of use. A little machine that pounds away at your muscles with alarming force might sound a little aggressive (and sure, it can hurt if your muscles are tight), but it’s actually heavenly. With four different muscle guns in its lineup, Therabody (formerly just known as Theragun before it rebranded and expanded its vision) has roots that trace back to 2007 when its founder was looking for an effective pain solution after suffering a traumatic car accident. After finding nothing on the market that helped, he began designing his own tool and finally, in 2016, he ended up releasing the first Theragun G1.
Now, the lineup of percussive devices includes the professional-grade PRO ($599), the premium Elite ($399), the simplified Prime ($299), and the portable mini ($199). Though I loved the full-size Theragun, my favorite is actually the mini. The compact design enables you to use it wherever you want and its triangular ergonomic shape is very easy to grip when applying pressure. I also found that the smaller size made it much easier to target those little muscles that can often be ignored.
One of the major advantages of its mini size is that I can toss it into my bag (or even in my back pocket) and take it with me on bike rides. Sure, it isn’t necessary, but I often don’t realize my muscles are tight until I’m already 15 miles into a ride, and having to stretch them out on the side of the road can be time-consuming. Using the mini makes quick work of any cramps and allows me to get back on my bike within minutes. I also found that the mini was significantly quieter than the larger models.
The mini has three settings to choose from (1750, 2100, and 2400 percussions-per-minute), a battery life of 150 minutes, and though it doesn’t come with any extra attachments, it’s compatible with those that come with the larger models. While a percussion gun isn’t something everyone needs, it’s a great idea for athletes and anyone who exercises regularly. Not only has it helped with my overall muscle health (meaning that I no longer fear the pain that can come with sitting and standing), but I'm even sleeping better now that my restless mucles aren't keeping me awake.
