Should You Get a Sports Massage Before or After a Workout?
You can get a sports massage before or after a workout, but the timing should suit your training and goals.
Before a demanding session, I generally favour a lighter, more targeted approach rather than an unfamiliar, intensive treatment.
After training, sports massage may help with muscular soreness and flexibility, although the effects are generally modest.
Massage hasn't been shown to directly improve strength, sprint speed or endurance.
Your training schedule, symptoms and previous response to massage matter more than following a fixed timetable.
If you're wondering whether to get a sports massage before or after a workout, the answer depends on what you're training for, how you're feeling and what you want from the appointment.
A massage before a heavy squat session isn't necessarily going to look the same as treatment after a demanding week of CrossFit.
At My Massage Therapist in Liverpool, I take your training schedule into account when deciding how to approach treatment. The aim is to make the appointment useful without unnecessarily interfering with what you've got planned.
Is It Better to Get a Sports Massage Before or After a Workout?
Neither option is automatically better. Before training, massage should be considered in relation to the upcoming session. After training, it may be more useful when muscular soreness or recovery is the main concern.
The evidence doesn't support the idea that massage directly makes you stronger or faster.
A sports massage review involving 29 studies and 1,012 participants found no significant improvements in strength, sprinting, jumping, endurance or fatigue. It did find small improvements in flexibility and delayed-onset muscle soreness.
That gives us a realistic starting point.
Massage can have a place in your training routine, but it shouldn't replace an appropriate warm-up, recovery time or sensible training management.
What Happens if You Get a Sports Massage Before Training?
A pre-workout sports massage can be tailored to a particular movement or area of discomfort, but treatment intensity should reflect how soon you're planning to train.
For example, if you've got a heavy lifting session coming up, I wouldn't automatically choose an intensive treatment that leaves you feeling unusually tender.
I'd want to know what exercises you're doing, how heavy you're planning to lift and whether you're already experiencing symptoms.
A lighter approach may be appropriate for some people. In other situations, especially when symptoms need further assessment, the best decision might be to change the timing of the appointment.
Research also gives us a reason to be realistic about performance expectations.
A 2023 systematic review covering 114 articles found that massage generally didn't improve motor performance measures, apart from some findings involving flexibility.
So I wouldn't recommend a pre-workout massage on the promise that it'll increase your strength or guarantee a better session.
Should You Get a Deep Sports Massage Before Heavy Lifting?
I generally wouldn't recommend booking an unfamiliar, intensive massage immediately before an important heavy lifting session.
That's a practical precaution, not a universal rule that deep massage is harmful before exercise.
If you've never had sports massage before, you also don't know exactly how your body will respond.
When an important session is coming up, I prefer to avoid unnecessary surprises.
Can Sports Massage Help After a Workout?
Sports massage after exercise may help reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness and improve flexibility slightly, but it isn't a substitute for your broader recovery routine.
Delayed-onset muscle soreness, commonly called DOMS, is the soreness that can develop after unfamiliar or demanding exercise.
It often becomes noticeable after a new training block, a particularly demanding session or exercises you haven't performed for a while.
A massage meta-analysis found small but statistically significant benefits for DOMS and flexibility.
That doesn't mean every athlete will experience the same result.
Some people may find massage useful when they're feeling sore after training. Others may not notice much difference.
The important point is that massage is one option, not the entire recovery plan.
The Australian Sports Commission's recovery guidance places massage alongside other considerations, including sleep, nutrition, rest and training periodisation. It also notes that massage's effect on overall recovery may be small.
How Soon After a Workout Should You Get a Sports Massage?
There's no single post-workout waiting period that suits everybody. The right timing depends on the session you've completed, your symptoms and how you normally respond to treatment.
If you've just completed a demanding leg session, I may choose a different treatment intensity from what I'd use on someone who completed a light upper-body workout.
I'd also ask about your next training session.
For example, there's a difference between finishing a demanding workout and having 2 rest days ahead, compared with having another hard session the following morning.
That doesn't mean massage must be avoided in either situation.
It means the appointment should be planned with the rest of your training week in mind.
If you want more detail about what to expect from treatment, my sports massage service explains the assessment-led approach I use.
Why I Ask About Your Training Before Treatment
One thing I've learnt through working with CrossFit athletes, lifters, runners and other active clients is that the same treatment approach doesn't necessarily suit every stage of training.
I've worked with athletes dealing with muscular soreness and movement restrictions around demanding training and competition.
For example, an athlete preparing for an event may be more concerned about a particular movement feeling restricted. Someone who has just completed a demanding training block may be more focused on general muscular soreness.
Those are different situations.
If a CrossFit athlete tells me their overhead squat or snatch receiving position feels restricted, I want to understand that movement before deciding what to treat.
I may assess relevant shoulder movement, strength and control, rather than simply assuming harder massage is the answer.
The appointment can involve targeted remedial massage, sports massage techniques or practical aftercare depending on what I find.
The treatment should fit the person and their training, not the other way around.
Should You Get a Sports Massage on a Rest Day?
A rest day can be a convenient time for sports massage because you don't have to fit treatment immediately around a demanding workout.
It may give you more flexibility when booking, particularly if your training schedule is already busy.
But you don't need to reserve massage exclusively for rest days.
The Australian Sports Commission's performance recovery advice highlights the importance of allowing sufficient recovery between demanding sessions.
That wider recovery picture matters more than treating massage as something that automatically resets your body.
If you're constantly exhausted, sleeping poorly or struggling with training demands, adding another massage appointment isn't necessarily the main thing to address.
What About Sports Massage Before a Competition?
Before a competition, I'd consider the event, how soon you're competing and how familiar you are with massage before choosing the treatment approach.
Someone preparing for a CrossFit competition may need a different approach from a runner who has completed a long training block.
For example, pre-event treatment may focus on an area that feels restricted during a particular movement, rather than a long, intensive session across multiple muscle groups.
I also wouldn't introduce a particularly aggressive treatment immediately before a major event just because an athlete believes harder pressure must be more effective.
The sports performance evidence doesn't support promising an immediate performance improvement from massage.
For me, that means the aim should be realistic: consider comfort, relevant movement and the athlete's preferences without promising faster times, heavier lifts or a better competition result.
What Should You Do After a Sports Massage?
Your aftercare should reflect the treatment you've received and what you've got planned next.
Some people can return to their normal activities without much adjustment. Others may benefit from temporarily modifying a particularly demanding session, especially if the treated area feels tender.
I don't automatically tell everybody to stop training.
Where appropriate, I may suggest modifying an aggravating movement or adjusting the intensity of the next session.
The Australian recovery framework also reinforces why sleep, nutrition and adequate recovery time shouldn't be overlooked.
When relevant, I can include practical exercise advice as part of treatment.
That may involve a small selection of mobility, strengthening or movement-control exercises, rather than a large exercise program.
How Do You Decide When to Book?
I suggest looking at three things: your next demanding session, the reason you want massage and your previous response to treatment.
If you're planning a heavy training session tomorrow, tell me.
If you've got a competition this weekend, tell me.
If you've just increased your running distance and your calves have been unusually sore, that's worth mentioning too.
The more context I have, the easier it is to tailor treatment appropriately.
You can also read my frequently asked questions for more information about first appointments, pressure and booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Go to the Gym Straight After a Sports Massage?
It depends on the treatment, how you feel and what you're planning to do at the gym.
A light session may be reasonable for some people, while a demanding workout might need adjusting. Ask your therapist for advice based on your individual appointment.
Is Sports Massage Better Before or After Leg Day?
Neither is universally better.
Before leg day, the upcoming session and treatment intensity matter. Afterwards, muscular soreness and your next training session may be more relevant.
Should I Get a Sports Massage the Day Before a Competition?
It depends on the event, your symptoms and how you've responded to massage previously.
I wouldn't recommend an unfamiliar, intensive treatment immediately before an important competition without considering those factors.
Does Sports Massage Remove Lactic Acid?
Massage hasn't been shown to improve blood lactate clearance in the way this claim suggests.
The 2023 research review found no meaningful massage-related change in blood lactate clearance.
Can Sports Massage Improve My Gym Performance?
There's no strong evidence that sports massage directly improves strength, sprinting, jumping or endurance.
It may still have a place in managing muscular soreness or flexibility, but those are different outcomes.
Booking Sports Massage Around Your Training in Liverpool
If you're booking sports massage around your gym sessions, running program or competition schedule, I'd rather know what you're working towards than apply the same treatment every time.
At My Massage Therapist, I work with CrossFit athletes, runners, powerlifters, gym-goers and other active people from Liverpool and South West Sydney.
Appointments are assessment-led, and treatment is tailored to your symptoms, movement, training and goals.
If you're unsure whether to book before or after your next workout, you can discuss your training schedule during your appointment.
The goal is to choose a sensible treatment approach that fits what you're actually doing.
