MALEK: When people ask about recovery, it\u2019s \u201cWhat can make me feel less fatigued, more energized, less sore, so that my body can recover from that workout I just did and be prepared for the next one I\u2019m about to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: I\u2019m Christine Cyr Clisset.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: I\u2019m Caira Blackwell.<\/p>\n
ROSIE: I\u2019m Rosie Guerin, and you\u2019re listening to The Wirecutter Show.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Caira?<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Christine?<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: I am very curious how your new-me-new-year workouts are going.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Actually, I\u2019m proud to tell you that because of the interview that we had last year on strength training at home, I have had a little journey of strength training for all of 2025. So now I\u2019m coming into 2026 prepared.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: I have been noticing you\u2019re a little bit more muscly, a little bit more rippy.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Do I look strong?<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: You look strong. Well, I think a lot of people this month, everybody kind of thinks about it in January, \u201cWhat am I doing this year for my fitness?\u201d And something that a lot of people don\u2019t think about is how they\u2019re recovering after their workouts.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going to start off by talking with Dr. Leada Malek. She is a licensed physical therapist and a spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association. And she\u2019s going to join us to explain why spending a few minutes after your workout, massaging your body, stretching, doing all those things that we kind of know we should do but might rush past, why that\u2019s important, what\u2019s happening in your body. And she\u2019s going to share some simple techniques that you might try after your next workout. She\u2019s also the author of a book called Science of Stretch, which expands on what we\u2019re going to talk about today. So she\u2019s got a lot of expertise.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Yep, that\u2019s right. And then later on the show, after the break, we\u2019ll bring on Wirecutter\u2019s own fitness-gear expert, Seth Berkman, to get into the tools you can use at home for a quick recovery session. We\u2019ll also talk about when it\u2019s worth spending more or less on recovery gear.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Leada Malek will be with us after the break. See you in a sec.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Welcome back. With us now is Dr. Leada Malek. Dr. Malek is a licensed physical therapist who holds a doctorate in physical therapy and is a board-certified sports clinical specialist. She works with a wide range of clients, from pro dancers to athletes to people just rehabbing from injuries.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Leada, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n
MALEK: Thanks for having me.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Today we are really focused on talking about recovery, why it\u2019s important to recover after a workout. Lots of people are hitting the gym this month; they\u2019re hopefully going to keep doing it all year long. But people might be adopting some new exercises and maybe feeling sore after a workout. So I just want to throw this first question at you: Why is it important to spend time at the end of a workout doing any kind of recovery work?<\/p>\n
MALEK: Recovery work simply just allows you to set aside that time to give your body a chance to slow down after having worked in whatever way your workout was, whether it was aerobic or anaerobic, so cardio or resistance training. Whether it\u2019s just a lower-intensity movement, static or dynamic stretching, foam rolling, getting into whatever, ice bath or sauna or whatever it is, but more so that it just allows that time for muscle recovery. And I think one thing that often gets overlooked is the importance of what happens between workout sessions. I like to tell people that setting aside that recovery time just allows them to structure that accordingly and say, \u201cOkay, so now that my workout\u2019s done, I\u2019m going to be doing X, Y, Z for my recovery.\u201d Whether that includes something in the gym, or maybe you have a routine that night, you\u2019re sleeping a little bit earlier, you\u2019re drinking whatever hydration beverages, et cetera.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: And that\u2019s a great point that you make, that it\u2019s not just about the cooldown after your workout. Recovery could encompass your nutrition. It could encompass your focus on rest, and everything. But I do want to go back to that moment, or those few moments, after a workout. Let\u2019s say I went to the gym this morning, I did some weights, I did some jump-roping. I just told Caira, because that\u2019s what I do several times a week.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: She\u2019s obsessed.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: From a physiological standpoint, what\u2019s happening in my body that needs to have some kind of shift before I go on to the next thing?<\/p>\n
MALEK: Gosh, your heart is pumping, your feet have been hitting the ground multiple times in some-odd minutes, and your nervous system is just \u2026 you\u2019re going right now. There\u2019s blood flow going to all your limbs, and you\u2019re really active in that moment. And so if you don\u2019t take time to cool down a little bit, and you\u2019re going into your full day right afterwards, it\u2019s nice to give your body a moment to slow down and find that pace for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n
Sometimes people can be a little bit rushed, and they stack a lot of workouts back to back to back or on a busy day. And then we run into this overdrive with the whole body. It\u2019s not just what\u2019s happening in your muscles, but it\u2019s your nervous system too. And I think that plays a role in the whole picture of how well you\u2019re going to feel 24 to 48 hours later, because half of this recovery game is stress management.<\/p>\n
So in those moments after your workout, giving your body a chance to actually take your nervous system and dial it down, heart rate coming down, slower movements, you\u2019re giving a little bit of massage with the foam rolling, it just allows everything to relax a little bit more, which I think can be especially helpful, especially if you\u2019re in the morning getting a workout and you have to go to a busy workday right afterwards, catch the train, whatever it is, it just allows that to get back to baseline.<\/p>\n
When people ask about recovery, it\u2019s \u201cWhat can make me feel less fatigued, more energized, less sore, so that my body can recover from that workout I just did and be prepared for the next one I\u2019m about to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
CAIRA: What does a good post-workout recovery routine look like? What should people try to commit to rather than skip if they only have 10 to 15 minutes after they\u2019re done with their workout?<\/p>\n
MALEK: You could partake in stretching. Stretching is a nice, vital part of recovery. It doesn\u2019t necessarily need a ton of time. You could choose static stretching \u2014 that\u2019s what people tend to lean towards, because you\u2019re not about to do some higher-level activity, and you can hold that stretch for a little bit longer.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: What is a static stretch?<\/p>\n
MALEK: A static stretch is when you\u2019re going to be holding that stretch position for at least 30 seconds. And you can also use foam rolling. Foam rolling is basically another means of \u2026 similar to what massage can do for the body, foam rolling can do. So foam rolling can actually make you feel a lot looser in those muscles that you\u2019re rolling. It can improve range of motion, as well as the static stretching, and it helps to just flush some of that exercise-induced swelling throughout the muscles. It can make you feel a little bit better, too.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: So I\u2019ve heard a couple of conflicting things about stretching. Should you stretch before or after your workout?<\/p>\n
MALEK: It depends, because it depends on what your goals are. Stretching is often used for increasing your range of motion, reducing muscle stiffness or soreness or that sense of tightness that you might feel, and then trying to maybe battle some soreness that comes after the workout. So there is some debate over whether you should hold a static stretch, such as that 30 seconds or more, or keep it dynamic. A dynamic stretch is one that you\u2019re moving in and out of the range of motion, and you\u2019re keeping the holds under 20 seconds, really. So if I were to do a hamstring stretch and hold it for 30 seconds, that would be a static stretch. If I want to go in and out of it, I would lean in, get the stretch, hold it for maybe 10 seconds, back off, come back, do it again, hold it for 10 seconds, that would now be a dynamic stretch.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: So dynamic is a little bit better for before a workout than static.<\/p>\n
MALEK: Correct.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Oh, okay.<\/p>\n
MALEK: Yep. These are like walking toe touches, walking \u2026 we call them butt kicks, or you\u2019re reaching behind, pulling your foot towards your glute, that kind of thing. So you\u2019re taking that muscle, stretching it real quick, and then bringing it back in.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: And then after, you just stick to static?<\/p>\n
MALEK: You can do either. They are both beneficial in that potential to make you feel less sore in those two and a half, three days following the exercise.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: I wanted to ask you about this term that I think gets kind of thrown around when we talk about foam rolling or any kind of self-massage: \u201cself-myofascial release.\u201d What does that term mean?<\/p>\n
MALEK: So \u201cmyofascial\u201d just means \u201cmuscles,\u201d and your \u201cself-massage\u201d means that you\u2019re doing it. And so with the foam roller, you\u2019re using this over muscles, assuming you feel comfortable on one \u2014 because also, if you hate it, you\u2019re probably not going to get the most benefit out of it, and your muscle might tighten up, because you\u2019re guarding. But ideally you\u2019re getting a muscle, and you\u2019re rolling it over the roller, and that is acting like a massage, both to the muscle and the nervous system. You\u2019re getting that input from the foam roller, and that can help reduce muscle tension in the muscle that you\u2019re rolling.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: I have kind of a personal vendetta that I would love to get your take on.<\/p>\n
MALEK: Yeah.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Cold plunges. Whenever I use one, my heart is racing, my muscles are tensing up. I\u2019m having a horrible time. Is that actually good for a cooldown session?<\/p>\n
MALEK: I knew this was going to come up. I knew it. It might just be that you just really don\u2019t like cold plunges, and that\u2019s a totally normal thing to not like, because it\u2019s very cold. But it is \u2026 when you\u2019re going from your body\u2019s warm and you\u2019re getting into an ice bath, your body is going to have to adjust to accommodate that shock, right?<\/p>\n
Now the kicker \u2026 is it worth it? Here\u2019s what we know. That cold-water immersion can help reduce feelings of muscle soreness in that first 48 hours to 72 hours after exercise. This can be helpful when you have another hard workout or competition or game or whatever you have to do right away, which is why we see a lot of the higher-level athletes doing it. It also does blunt that inflammatory response that your body uses to build on it when you just did a heavier strength-training day or you have that hypertrophy coming after that inflammatory response. So by doing that cold-water immersion right after your strength day, you might be doing yourself a disservice. There\u2019s so many other ways to give yourself that. \u201cI want to feel less sore after today\u2019s workout. Is there anything else I can do?\u201d Yes, there absolutely is. We have compression, we have foam-rolling, gentle stretching, massage, cold water. So these are all ways that can help you feel less sore that don\u2019t necessarily have to be a freezing-cold water.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Well, I appreciate your approval. I\u2019m never getting another cold plunge again.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: We have to talk about the opposite. What about heat? Is a sauna or a hot tub, if you\u2019ve got access to that, something that\u2019s good to do for recovery?<\/p>\n
MALEK: When we\u2019re looking at these different modalities and figuring out what\u2019s the most effective \u2026 so heat and ice are pretty close. The difference is, for those immediate, like, the first 48 hours right after activity, ice tends to do a little bit better. If you\u2019re sore a little bit longer, or you feel like your muscles are tense on day three and four, heat tends to do better for that.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: What else could somebody focus on after a workout for optimal recovery? When you\u2019ve left the gym, and you\u2019re now thinking about your next meal, you\u2019re thinking about the rest that you\u2019ve gotten, how does that all play into it?<\/p>\n
MALEK: You definitely want to replenish hydration. You want to have been drinking your water before your workout, during your workout, and after. Whether you need the electrolytes or not, if you were really sweaty, if it was humid, you want to keep that all on key. Hydration is a really big portion of it. And making sure you\u2019re replenishing both with protein and carbs in your following meals are a big thing. That\u2019s going to bring your energy levels back up. That\u2019s going to give your muscles what they need to build on the little, micro damage that we just did, that was intentional in the exercises, to help them regenerate. And you should think about your meals. You should think about \u201cOkay, how can I go give my body what it needs now to make the most out of my workout?\u201d<\/p>\n
CAIRA: I\u2019m totally using this as, like, a self-help hotline at this point.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: I love it. Sorry.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: I have a tendency to just crash after my workouts. I have to take at least a 30-minute nap, because I just feel so drained. Is that because I\u2019m not resting enough just in my regular life, or I\u2019m not eating enough or hydrating enough? What am I doing wrong?<\/p>\n
MALEK: Man, it could be all of the above.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Dang it.<\/p>\n
MALEK: I know. It is hard to say, unless you take a step back, and you look at everything. But with regards to what we can do to help reduce that feeling of that crash after the workout is eating enough beforehand, getting a good, restful night\u2019s sleep. Making sure you\u2019re eating enough is a huge portion of making sure you don\u2019t crash after the workout.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m big on making sure you\u2019re choosing exercises and completing them at an intensity that doesn\u2019t feel depleting. So making sure they\u2019re challenging enough that you can actually complete it without feeling like that was the hardest thing in the world. You\u2019re not necessarily hitting failure, but you\u2019re getting close, but successful. And between your sets, you are taking your rest breaks, because that\u2019s going to make a difference too.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Yeah. I think I just learned a lot about what I\u2019m doing wrong.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Taking notes, make a checklist.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Yeah.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: We\u2019ve talked about a lot, so I want to just briefly recap sort of the main points that we\u2019ve talked about. So overall, it\u2019s just important to take a little bit of time at the end of a workout to recover, and that\u2019s because you need to de-stress yourself a bit. You need to bring your nervous system back down. You want to focus at the end of a workout, you can be doing static or dynamic stretching. At the beginning of a workout, you might want to be doing more dynamic stretching or activation. You might want to think about other types of modalities like using compression, self-massage on a foam roller, using heat or cold.<\/p>\n
And then you should think about your nutrition, your hydration, and your rest in terms of sort of the whole recovery package.<\/p>\n
MALEK: I\u2019m literally cheering over here. I\u2019m like, \u201cYes, yes, yes.\u201d Recovery is your chance to take that controlled amount of stress that you just put it through, your body through, and give it a moment to regulate that, to improve your function, and come back even stronger for the next workout. It has to be intentional, and I think that\u2019s when people get the most out of it.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Thank you so much.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Thank you.<\/p>\n
MALEK: Of course. Thank you for having me.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Okay. We\u2019re going to take a quick break, and then when we come back, we\u2019re going to be on with Seth Berkman. He\u2019s a fitness writer at Wirecutter. And since we\u2019ve already talked about the why of recovery, we\u2019re going to get into the details about the tools you can use to actually do that at home or at the gym, whatever you want. So when we\u2019re back, we\u2019ll be here with Seth to talk about building a recovery toolkit without spending a fortune. See you soon.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Welcome back. We\u2019re here with Seth Berkman, who is a senior staff writer for our fitness team at Wirecutter. And he has tested all sorts of gear, fitness trackers, running shoes, you name it. He\u2019s going to walk us through some simple gear you can invest in to upgrade your post-workout recovery routine. Seth, welcome.<\/p>\n
SETH: Thanks for having me. Good to see you again.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: It\u2019s good to see you too. It\u2019s great to have you back. We chatted with you last year around this time about weight training and resistance training, and all that good stuff. I\u2019m happy to be talking about recovery today.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: So Seth, if somebody wanted to build a basic starter kit for all the essential tools needed for a post-workout recovery, what do you recommend?<\/p>\n
SETH: I think you would first want to start, actually, with a yoga mat. I think that provides a lot of browning and the basis for a lot of the post-workout recovery stretching that you might be doing. Next, I would think about foam rollers. They\u2019re great, because they come in different, various shapes and sizes and densities. And so you can find a foam roller in particular for targeted recovery, you want to do certain parts of your body. And then, optional upgrade, something you might consider as well is a massage gun for maybe something a little bit more than what a foam roller can provide.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Okay. So let\u2019s start with the yoga mat. When we look at your guide, you have yoga mats that can range from $25 to over $100. So I think everybody knows what a yoga mat is, but maybe people are not quite sure why anybody would spend that much more money. What are you getting out of that?<\/p>\n
SETH: So I think if you were looking for just something for recovery only, and that\u2019s mainly what you\u2019re going to do after your workout, a surface that you can sit on and do yoga, do stretching, do breathing exercises, our budget pick, the Yoga Accessories Extra Thick Deluxe Yoga Mat, which you\u2019ve mentioned costs around $25, should more than suffice for what you\u2019re looking for. It\u2019s a great mat. You can also use it for more intense activities, but it does provide that perfect kind of base layer for a simple kind of recovery routine.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Yeah, I have that one at home. And I\u2019ve had it for, like, five years.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: I have it too. I like it. It\u2019s good.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Yeah. It\u2019s solid.<\/p>\n
SETH: I mean, you may look for something more expensive or some of our other picks, which do cost a bit more money, if you\u2019re going to be using the yoga mat for more than just recovery. One of the reasons why the Lululemon mat has long been a pick for us is it\u2019s double-sided, so it is two surfaces. For example, my personal usage, I use the Lululemon mat, the top, more slick side when I\u2019m doing HIIT exercises, where I\u2019m going to be jumping around a lot. Then it has a more sort of softer feel when you want to do more stretching or that kind of workout recovery where you can lay down, immerse your body in kind of the softness, the more foamy section of the yoga mat.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Will a more expensive yoga mat last longer?<\/p>\n
SETH: I think in general, when you do pay a bit more for a yoga mat, a more expensive one does come with the reputation that it will last you a bit longer. The materials are a bit stronger, I think. For example, I love using the Yoga Accessories mat, our budget pick. I do notice a little bit more shedding maybe on that mat.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: I noticed, that\u2019s why I wanted to know. I have \u2014<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Shedding how?<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Kind of, like, the plastic or the rubber or whatever is kind of, like, peeling off a little bit in spots. Okay, so we\u2019ve talked about yoga mats. Let\u2019s turn to foam rollers. Why do you use one, and what makes one good?<\/p>\n
SETH: Yeah. Foam rollers, when you\u2019re looking for that myofascial release, that self-targeting of muscles, foam rollers come in all different shapes and sizes and are really good for you to be able to determine, one, how much pressure you can kind of tolerate, but also what gives you that sort of relaxation and adds to that ability to cool down. Those are very beneficial both before and after a workout, whether it be a small one, one with ridges, one that\u2019s more so flat.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Because it\u2019s essentially like a self-massage, right? You\u2019re basically massaging your muscles with a foam roller.<\/p>\n
SETH: Right.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: But then why does it hurt so much? I hate foam rollers.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Haven\u2019t you ever had a massage that hurt?<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Yeah, sometimes. But it\u2019s more fun that way when it\u2019s a massage, not a foam roller.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There are a lot of different densities of foam rollers. I know I\u2019ve been to the gym, where they\u2019re so firm, it almost seems like concrete.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: It\u2019s like a column.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Yeah, exactly. And then I have one at home that is softer. It feels a little less abrasive, I guess, when I\u2019m using it. Why would you go for one density over another?<\/p>\n
SETH: I think when it comes to post-workout recovery, you may want to gravitate towards something that\u2019s a bit softer in density. I normally use the Gaiam Restore Total Body Foam Roller that we currently recommend in our guide all the time when I\u2019m recovering from a workout. It\u2019s a more softer, kind of spongier material to it. And so it lets your body sink in a little bit. But when you\u2019re rolling on it, whether it be your hamstrings or your hips or your back, you\u2019re still getting that pressure. If you think of it almost as having like a hard center core that\u2019s surrounded by a more spongy, softer material, that\u2019s what the Gaiam roller is like. Some of the other rollers are just pure Styrofoam-y material all throughout. And so part of that is personal preference and how much you can take and how much of that pressure you want to put on your body.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: And how much does the Gaiam cost?<\/p>\n
SETH: It ranges in price from about $30 to $40 usually.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Okay.<\/p>\n
SETH: And then \u2026 it\u2019s not technically a foam roller, but it\u2019s in our foam roller guide, but something that we\u2019ve long recommended is the Tiger Tail, which is essentially a bit of a longer plastic rod. It\u2019s about 2 feet in length, but it does have a softer center, where it\u2019s almost like if you think about a lint roller. It doesn\u2019t absorb lint, unfortunately. But if you were to roll it, you would hold it in both of your hands, and then the middle part is what you would roll on your body. So if you think about a rolling pin and when you\u2019re rolling out dough, that\u2019s the same exact motion that you\u2019re using with it against your body as you\u2019re massaging those muscles. And it doesn\u2019t take up as much space. That\u2019s something I use a lot and I think is really good for recovery, just because it is a bit more adaptable to your body. It\u2019s about $40.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: And so that\u2019s not a foam roller you lay on. It\u2019s one that you\u2019re just rolling against your body?<\/p>\n
SETH: Correct.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: You\u2019re not on the floor laying on it.<\/p>\n
SETH: No. No.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Okay. So we\u2019ve talked about yoga mats. We\u2019ve talked about foam rollers. I want to get into the sexier of these tools, which is a massage gun. You called this an optional one, so maybe you think that it\u2019s not a necessity, and I want to get into that. We want to know if they actually work. If you\u2019re splurging on this thing, will it do its job? And follow-up, can it replace a foam roller?<\/p>\n
SETH: Studies have been done trying to look into the effectiveness of massage guns. And there really isn\u2019t a definitive answer of yes or no, are they beneficial? The biggest benefit you may get out of it is just \u2026 how does it feel? Do you find it relaxing? And that sort of psychological thing is what a lot of studies or scientists talk about, the benefit that people get from a massage gun. In terms of actual releasing and soothing of muscles, it\u2019s up in the air whether or not massage guns can provide that.<\/p>\n
I mean, part of me thinks a lot of people like them because they look cool. I don\u2019t know. Part of it could be they are easier to use than actually rolling out or using a Tiger Tail by yourself. Is it better than a foam roller? I wouldn\u2019t definitively say so. I think it may be a bit more accessible. For example, I often use the Theragun Mini, which is one of the picks in our massage gun guide. And even though that one doesn\u2019t have the same amplitude or force that a bigger massage gun has, I like that because it can get into certain crevices of the body that are just underneath my hamstring. It\u2019s easier for me to hold the massage gun that way as if I was using a bigger massage gun that\u2019s two, three times the size. Maneuvering that around just certain angles of your body isn\u2019t the easiest, but using a smaller massage gun sporadically, I feel, does kind of get that targeting that I can\u2019t get with a bigger one.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Because the Theragun, the regular-size one is kind of the size of a chunky drill, like, a power drill.<\/p>\n
SETH: Correct. Yeah.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: It\u2019s pretty big. So what is the price difference there? Because I know you said it\u2019s accessible, but that\u2019s not relating to how much it costs. It\u2019s a little bit more approachable than maybe using a foam roller.<\/p>\n
SETH: Yeah. And so the Theragun Mini retail costs about $220.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Oh, that\u2019s not cheap.<\/p>\n
SETH: Sometimes it\u2019s on sale, like, $50 off, you\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Okay.<\/p>\n
SETH: Theragun now costs around $340.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: That\u2019s a lot of money for something that doesn\u2019t necessarily have efficacy.<\/p>\n
SETH: Right. And so we\u2019re right now debating whether or not to keep the Theragun a pick, because it costs so much money.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Gun, done.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: You heard it here first.<\/p>\n
SETH: They do make other Theraguns, same size, that are cheaper, that don\u2019t have as many speeds or don\u2019t come with as many attachments. Battery life may be a bit shorter. And so you really have to think about, one, how much are you going to use it, \u201cHow much do I need this one attachment that looks like a ball versus one that looks more like a little nub?\u201d If you feel that it gives you the kind of recovery that you want, who\u2019s to say to rob anyone of that kind of benefit of it?<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: We also have a $100 recommendation in the guide right now, right?<\/p>\n
SETH: Right.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: It\u2019s like the Mebak or something like that.<\/p>\n
SETH: Yeah, the Mebak is \u2014<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Mebak. Yeah.<\/p>\n
SETH: \u2014 is recommended, and that\u2019s a lot less expensive. That gun is pretty heavy. We often test massage guns with our paid tester panel. The paid tester panel includes people with certain physical disabilities, certain body types, and they\u2019re really able to give us a unique perspective of some of the challenges or things that they look for in products, and it\u2019s really helpful, the input and feedback that they give.<\/p>\n
And they found that the \u2026 so the handle of the Theragun is like a triangle, essentially, so you can grip it from different angles and perspectives. The Mebak just has one handle, and so for some people, whether it be because of grip strength or other reasons, they find it a bit harder to maneuver sometimes. And so that might be a consideration when you\u2019re thinking about one massage gun over another.<\/p>\n
One thing that you might want to consider is, I don\u2019t know if you know about massage balls.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Oh yeah, I\u2019ve seen these before. And my mom\u2019s a massage therapist, so I have. But you tell us. Tell us first what they are.<\/p>\n
SETH: Yeah. Massage balls are, essentially, if you think about something the size of a tennis ball or maybe even a bit smaller, they\u2019re often used on the back of your neck, or they can be used on your legs. And so you\u2019re just massaging them, essentially, against your muscles to give you that same kind of tension, that same kind of relief that a massage gun or a roller, same kind of feeling like a deep-tissue massage would. But you\u2019re able to, one, just roll it, do it yourself, with these, two, however many balls you want to use. And they\u2019re pretty inexpensive.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: My mom is a massage therapist, and the cheap hack that she has shown me to do is to either take a massage ball or a tennis ball and put it into a long sock, so think of it, like, a knee-high sock. And then you can press the ball against your back, and you\u2019re leaning against the wall, and then you can control where the ball lands on your back by pulling the sock up or letting it go back down. I\u2019ve found it really, really helpful. But I\u2019ve found that with the massage balls, they tend to be a little more firm than the tennis balls.<\/p>\n
SETH: Right.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Yeah, you\u2019re right, it\u2019s, like, a very, very cheap way to get that sort of targeted massage.
Seth, are there any other tools that you would recommend for recovery that we haven\u2019t talked about?<\/p>\n
SETH: One thing people might consider are resistance bands. I know that they\u2019re often thought of as actual during-workout tools or things that you might use to warm up, but they are good for kind of targeted stretching exercises, which, depending on your workout, you might want to include. If you\u2019re looking to kind of just get a little extra targeted stretching in a certain area that\u2019s been bothering you or you feel like needs a bit more loosening up than other parts of your body, using resistance bands, particularly the mini loop bands, those would be possibly of benefit.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Great. It sounds like I\u2019ve got all of the things that I need to recover at home.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Well, you\u2019re a workout pro, and we discovered that last year, okay, Christine? Okay, Seth. We made it to our final question: What\u2019s the last thing you bought that you really loved?<\/p>\n
SETH: I just bought a Nintendo Switch 2.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Whoo! That\u2019s my fave!<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Whoo! How\u2019d you get it? Isn\u2019t that just a hot commodity right now?<\/p>\n
SETH: I think they\u2019re, like, pretty prevalent now.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Not anymore.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Not anymore. I don\u2019t know where I am.<\/p>\n
SETH: Yeah. I feel like I\u2019m too old to play video games. I\u2019ve talked with Haley, our video game expert, about this.<\/p>\n
SETH: I still want to play, but I just can\u2019t get into it. But I feel like maybe having the portability of a Switch will help me.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: You\u2019re making this sound like it\u2019s a job that you have to do.<\/p>\n
SETH: I know. That\u2019s \u2026 yeah.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Somebody\u2019s forcing you to play video games. What\u2019s your game of choice?<\/p>\n
SETH: There are two games that I\u2019m really looking forward to playing. One is Farming Simulator.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Okay. Yeah.<\/p>\n
SETH: And then there\u2019s this \u2026 I believe it\u2019s playable. It\u2019s a Japanese game, but it\u2019s, like, a train, you build railroads and subways. And so you run this business building railroads.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Cool.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: I like this. This sounds fun. Well, Seth, thank you so much. This was great.<\/p>\n
SETH: Thanks for having me.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Caira, do you feel ready and recovered? Do you feel recovered from this interview? Do you feel ready to recover from your workouts?<\/p>\n
CAIRA: I feel so relaxed and so ready to recover.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: So what did you take away from both conversations we had?<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Oh, I learned so much, actually. I learned that I don\u2019t actually eat before my workout, and that\u2019s probably what\u2019s causing me to crash after the fact.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Ooh, yeah.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: I always try to avoid eating breakfast, because I do eat a lot, and it makes me feel sluggish, but I\u2019m just going to just try it and see what happens.<\/p>\n
From Seth, I have kind of taken away that massage guns, while they look cool, aren\u2019t maybe worth the splurge. I mean, if you want it, do you, boo, but I just don\u2019t think I\u2019ll do that. What I do think I am going to invest in: I currently have the budget-pick foam roller, and it\u2019s very firm, and I\u2019ve learned that I can branch out and do something softer, because that one is a little abrasive.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Yeah. Yeah, I love my foam roller. It\u2019s a little bit softer. It\u2019s really great for after a workout.<\/p>\n
I now think I understand a little bit better from our first conversation with Leada about why cooling down and recovery is so important. If I don\u2019t take that time, there might be some repercussions later in the day. It might be why I\u2019m not feeling so great, or maybe I still feel like life is stressful. I might feel a little bit more stressed. You need to take that time to sort of bring your body back into a state of calm.<\/p>\n
And then in terms of our conversation with Seth, I have wanted to get a pair of some of these massage balls because my mom, like I said, has shown me how to use a lot of these techniques with a tennis ball, but I want to try it with a little bit of a firmer ball with the \u2014<\/p>\n
CAIRA: Look at you upgrading.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Yeah, I\u2019m going to upgrade. My mom will be proud.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: That\u2019d be great. As always, you can find links to the products we recommend today in our show notes or on our website. That\u2019s it for us. Until next week. Thanks so much for listening. Bye.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel. Engineering support from Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. Today\u2019s episode was mixed by Catherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Rowan Niemisto, Catherine Anderson, and Diane Wong. Cliff Levy is Wirecutter\u2019s deputy publisher and general manager. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter\u2019s editor-in-chief. I\u2019m Christine Cyr Clisset.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: I\u2019m Caira Blackwell.<\/p>\n
CHRISTINE: Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n
SETH: I bought the one that came with Mario Kart.<\/p>\n
CAIRA: \u201cMario Kart,\u201d Seth. It\u2019s \u201cMario.\u201d<\/p>\n
SETH: \u201cMario.\u201d I\u2019m from New Jersey, so I can\u2019t help it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MALEK: When people ask about recovery, it\u2019s \u201cWhat can make me feel less fatigued, more energized, less sore,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[589,163,85,46],"class_list":["post-265878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}