Authors: Therabody Scientists: Tim Roberts, MSc; Rachelle Reed, PhD, MS, ACSM-EP; Kyle Silvey, PhD, CSCS; Michelle Darian, MS, MPH, RD, LDN 

It’s easy to think that a workout has to occur at a gym — or that it requires a dedicated time block on your calendar. But that’s not always the case. Bringing loads of laundry up flights of stairs is a workout. Carrying a child (or pushing a stroller) up a hill at a park is a workout. Curating the perfect garden is a workout. Lugging groceries home from the store is a workout. Sure, these physical activities look different than planned exercises like group fitness or playing pickleball, but your body is exerting energy, and your muscles are bearing a load.  

We know you have a lot to balance, and the thought of taking a few moments to recover may feel impossible. That’s why Therabody® designs tools to help you turn recovery from a luxury into a necessity. Here’s why it’s important to recover from the workout called life and how to get started.  

Your Activities Lead to Stresses on the Body — And They Add Up  

Physical activity is broadly defined as any movement of the body that requires energy expenditure above resting levels. Even daily tasks are types of movement that put stress on the muscles (by lifting, pulling, or pushing heavy objects) and stress on your cardiovascular system (aerobic activities that leave you out of breath). [1] 

These activities can make you stronger, improve your heart health and blood flow, and help improve blood sugar control, among many other health benefits. [1] Movement triggers endorphin release that can alleviate stress and built-up tension — improving your mood. [2] Some stress can be good for you. But if you don’t properly recover from it, it can compound and take a toll on your physical and mental health. That’s when you start to feel sore, achy, tight, and fatigued. A lack of recovery can lead to an increased risk of injury and illness. [2]  

Taking a Few Minutes to Recover Every Day Can Go a Long Way   

Taking just a few minutes to recover can go a long way in relieving the everyday stressors. Unlike athletes who may prioritize recovery for performance, recovery for most people is about feeling rejuvenated and capable of enjoying life with minimal discomfort or fatigue. 

What’s interesting is that recovery isn’t a passive process. Recovery is the body’s active process of returning to a state of equilibrium after physical or mental exertion. It includes deliberate actions to restore energy, repair tissues, and calm the mind. [3] 

For example, during physical activity, the heart works harder to pump blood to the working muscles. Even after the activity ends, the increased circulation helps to clear out metabolic waste products help decrease soreness, reduce inflammation and expedite recovery processes. [3] 

But there are also ways you can help stimulate or expedite these naturally occurring processes, including with technology. Devices like those developed by Therabody work alongside the body’s resilience, accelerating muscle tissue repair, reducing tension, and promoting relaxation. [4]  

Enter, Therabody’s flagship product, the Theragun®, the ultimate recovery tool from life’s everyday stressors.  

How Using a Theragun Helps You Recover From the Workout Called Life  

The Theragun is a massage gun that delivers percussive massage therapy. It combines pressure and vibration therapy to create rapid rhythmic movements that target the body’s recovery processes. [4] 

First and foremost, percussive massage therapy increases blood flow to soft tissues like muscles, tendons, and ligaments, which can reduce inflammation and enhance the delivery of oxygen and nutrients needed for muscle repair. The repetitive pulses enhance tissue mobility, reduce soreness, and even stimulate relaxation. [5] To learn more about the published scientific benefits of Theragun devices, read more here.  

Here are five ways Theragun allows both the mind and body to recover and reset, and how to use it for optimal benefits.   

#1 Theragun Helps You Relax   

Massages are known to be relaxing, and the percussive massage therapy delivered by a Theragun is no exception.  

Percussive therapy stimulates receptors in the muscle that promote relaxation. It also stimulates the nervous system to release endorphins — feel-good hormones — that help reduce stress and anxiety while supporting a sense of comfort and well-being. [6] 

Even just a few moments of relaxation can calm the mind and body, making it more resilient to take on the day’s challenges.   

Pro Tip: For a relaxing routine and to get the most physically and mentally relaxing benefits, try treating different areas of your body that feel tense, starting at just 15-30 seconds each.  

#2 Theragun Helps Lull You to Sleep  

The Theragun is so relaxing that it can even help lull you to sleep.  

Getting quality sleep is crucial in helping you show up as your best self. Sleeping well means you feel energized, alert, emotionally balanced, and ready to take on the day. Vital recovery processes also occur during sleep. [7] 

Therabody scientists collaborated with Biostrap Labs, a wearable health tech company, to investigate how using the Theragun impacts measures of sleep, performance, and recovery.  

Results of the study showed Theragun to be an effective tool for improving sleep:  

Adding Theragun to your nighttime routine is an effective way to naturally help relax your muscles and ease you into slumber. We break down more ways to improve your sleep here.   

Pro Tip: With your Theragun, you gain access to the Therabody app, which has goal-specific protocols for how to use the device. Try the 6-minute sleep protocol 30 minutes before bed.  

Discover Theragun Relief  

#3 Theragun Relieves Daily Acute Aches and Pains  

Aches and pains aren’t just a result of intensive exercise. Stiffness, tightness, and discomfort can stem from everyday activity like carrying groceries or inactivity like sitting too long or having poor posture.     

Whether you’re in your 20s or 70s, your muscles and joints can often feel stiff or tight. Movement and physical activity can contribute to those feelings (mainly as you adjust to a new type of movement or increase the weight and intensity of the activity). But prolonged periods of sitting can also wreak havoc on your body. For example, sitting for too long can shorten your hip flexors (a major stabilizer of the lower back), and tightness of this muscle may increase the risk of lower back pain. [8] 

Theragun stimulates sensory receptors in the muscle to trigger muscle relaxation, helping mitigate pain in that area. [9]   

Pro Tip: Use Theragun daily on muscles that are regularly tight. Relaxing them may alleviate the pain they are causing. While Theragun provides a powerful percussive massage, the treatment should never be painful. 

#4 Theragun Helps Make Breathwork a Daily Habit  

How did we go from talking about percussive therapy to breathwork? Several Theragun models, including the Theragun Sense, include access to science-backed breathwork routines within the Therabody app.  

Breathwork refers to the practice of using targeted, intentional breathing exercises. Research shows that regular breathwork practice induces relaxation and improves stress and mood. It does this by helping to switch the body from a sympathetic (fight or flight) state to a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state. [10] 

Pro Tip: It only takes 5 to 10 minutes of breathwork a day to see results. Instead of scrolling through social media for a mental break, open the Therabody app, select a short breathwork routine, close your eyes, and take a moment truly to yourself. 

Discover Theragun Sense  

#5 Theragun Can Support Healthy Aging  

There’s no doubt that getting older comes with a unique set of changes. Joints tend to creak more. Muscles become less stretchy. Part of that is thanks to the thickening of fascia. Fascia is what surrounds your muscles, joints, and bones and helps to keep the gears in your body running smoothly. But fascia tends to build up in certain areas with age because of lower collagen production and elasticity. [11]    

Percussive therapy can help break up the fascia surrounding the muscles to improve your range of motion. It stimulates blood flow to remove metabolic waste from the tissue. [12, 13]  

Better recovery equals longevity of the body’s joints. There’s also a domino effect — regular physical activity also keeps your joints moving well.  

Pro Tip: More movement and better recovery allow you to keep your muscles and joints in prime shape so you can continue to lean on them and move with ease now and for years (even decades) to come.   

Key Takeaways 

References: