Summer is upon us and that means lots of outdoor activities. Running, cycling, hiking, kayaking, swimming, tennis; you name it, we help you prepare for it. As the leading sports recovery massage spa in the Denver metro area, Symmetry sees all kinds of athletes from weekend warriors to professionals. 

We love treating every single one of you, which is why we want to give you a few tips on becoming the best you can be.

When practicing any type of sport, it is important that you are healthy inside and out in order to maintain your fitness and avoid injuries. The first step to avoiding injuries is ensuring you are properly prepared for your sport. You will need to be well hydrated. Ensuring that your muscles are well hydrated is the key to avoiding injury in any sport. A hydrated body is a happy body. With long distance sports such as running or cycling, this also means replacing any lost electrolytes and calories.

It is important to replace electrolytes while working out because, when you sweat, you don't just lose water, you also lose electrolytes. Electrolytes are the minerals that help deliver fluids to the cells that need them and are essential to everything from muscle health to brain function so it is extremely important to replace these minerals. Make sure you are always carrying a good quality electrolyte drink or supplement with you when you have a high intensity workout lasting longer than 60 minutes. 

For those of you in the more advanced fields and distances, you may also want to look into carrying a carbohydrate gel or easy to consume snack with you if you will be engaging in high intensity cardio such as running or cycling for more than 90 minutes. These tools ensure that your body is balancing its nutrients properly to achieve optimal performance. In high cardio activities, our bodies are fueled by fat and carbohydrates. Since fat takes longer to digest and turn into energy, the easiest solution to maintain energy levels is a carb gel.

Next, you will want to make sure you are stretching. Stretching helps your muscles flush out the lactic acids produced by exercise. When you don’t stretch, you are more likely to create adhesions in your muscle tissue making it more prone to strains and tears. The ideal stretching routine is to use dynamic stretching when warming up and static stretching to cool down. 

A dynamic stretch is used to improve mobility and range of motion in the joints; this means you need to be moving while you stretch in a similar style to the exercise you are planning to perform (i.e. lunges for runners, arm circles for swimmers). Static stretching means you are holding a stretch without movement only to the limit of your range of motion. You do not want to overstretch yourself as this could cause injury.

You will also need to maintain proper nutrition on and off your respective field. Now we realize that most of our athletes that visit us know about nutrition and may even have their own set nutrition plan, but if you need some tips, we can help you out. A good majority of our therapists are athletes as well so we know a thing or two about how to fuel your body.

Of course, let’s not forget the importance of massage. Massage can help increase your range of motion and flexibility. It also helps to rid your body of lactic acids and build new, healthy muscle tissue. It is recommended that athletes receive regular recovery massage at least once a month but preferably every two weeks. Don’t forget that Symmetry offers Thai Yoga which is great for athletes as the natural stretches and compressions performed in this modality help your body heal and prepare for whatever event you are recovering from or training for.

Coming soon to a Symmetry location near you:

We are happy to announce that we will soon be offering CBD add-ons to the massages you already love. Symmetry has partnered with local, athletically focused, company Arcanum to bring you the best in CBD sports recovery massage. Our new line of products will include CBD massage cream, transdermal full-spectrum CBD micro dose lotion, and CBD infused cooling cream. Make sure you also ask about our Kinesio tape infused with CBD. CBD is a great recovery tool for athletes as it allows your body to remain in parasympathetic homeostasis offering you more time to recover.

Finally, if you are injured (we sincerely hope you avoid that) it is important to rest, recover, and ice. The body’s initial response to injury is inflammation. Ice counteracts inflammation and allows your system to recover from the initial shock of the injury. 

We do recommend seeing a doctor when it comes to sports related injuries, but do remember that nobody knows your body better than you. Listen to the hints your body is giving you and recover at your own pace. It is important not to push yourself when your body is recovering. You need to be in top shape in order to perform your best and if that means taking a few days off, you will have to accept that.

We hope these tips and reminders help you to enjoy your summer season. Don’t forget that our concierge team is available seven days a week to help place you with the best therapist to suit your athletic needs. We look forward to working with you in order to make you the best athlete you can be.