The Best Massage Guns for Every Type of Workout

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Massage guns are a fairly common sight at gyms, fitness facilities and even on the couch for at-home recovery. We’ve long known the benefits of an old-fashioned, hands-on massage for recovery and stress relief. Now it’s possible to get some of those same benefits on your own schedule from the comfort of home. Athletes, from highly paid professionals to gym enthusiasts, have hopped on the massage gun train. Far from being a fad, there is real value to these motorized athletic massagers.

How massage guns work

Percussive massage guns help increase blood flow, hydrate muscle tissue and improve the body’s performance before and after a workout. Modern massage guns are quiet, portable and easy to use. They can offer precision massages with powerful percussion capabilities. There are also a variety of specially-designed heads to help target certain muscle areas.

Phoenix, Arizona-based Neuroathletic Coach and ZHealth Movement Specialist, Tony Rhine sees value in massage guns. “Mechanically, it will help increase circulation to an area,” he notes. “This means moving good stuff in (oxygen/nutrients in blood) and bad stuff out (waste products transported through lymph). This will speed up the repair process for your tissues and help keep inflammation down.”

Nicholas Trebesch, Personal Training Director at Missoula, Montana’s VRTX Fitness, sums it up: “In short, massage guns are tools we can use, as athletes, to assist in recovery. They work by repeatedly compressing muscle tissue, which stimulates blood flow. The extra blood flow can help to recover a specific target muscle more quickly than without use of a massage gun. There is some additional benefit of using a massage gun tool for lymphatic flow purposes to support your immune system.”

When to use a massage gun

Rhine favors using percussive massage guns to wind down after a long day of training or work. “It helps my system calm down and increases recovery for the next day’s activities,” he says. “They’re also great to use before movement or exercise, as it helps me move more fluidly and feel more in tune with my body.

Trebesch uses a massage gun to target specific, chronically overstimulated muscle groups. “My lower back muscles and shoulders take too much stress due to my workout regimen,” he adds. “Hitting those areas with the massage gun helps me to keep problem areas healthier and recover closer to the pace the rest of my body operates on.”

Things to consider

Massage guns can feel so relaxing it’s possible to overdo their use. “Five minutes on any muscle group will promote that extra blood flow and begin the assistance on recovery,” recommends Trebesch. “I wouldn’t use a massage gun more than once or twice a day, personally.”

Be careful not to go too hard, or too quickly. Start conservatively with low settings and gentle use. You can build up to more targeted intensity in certain areas if needed. Just as you’d slowly introduce a new gym routine, take your time introducing massage gun use into your routine. Otherwise, you’re asking for unwanted soreness and potential injury.

Rhine says that not everyone will respond the same way to massage gun use, but they are a great option to explore to help increase performance and recovery. He adds, “Studies have shown percussive massage guns help increase range of motion without impacting strength and help reduce pain and feelings of muscle soreness.”

Here are a few of the market’s best percussive massage guns:

• Best overall: Hyperice Hypervolt 2
• Best budget: RENPHO Power Massage Gun
• Best pro: Therabody Theragun PRO, Fifth Generation
• Best travel: Reathlete FOLD Percussive Massager
• Best basic: Trigger Point Performance Impact Massager
• Best beginner: Lifepro Sonic Handheld Percussive Massage Gun