We were lucky enough to massage the USA Elite Triathlon team this year for the Leeds 2019 Triathlon. One of our guys even came 2nd! Find out everything Triathlon in this Blog.
Massaging the Elite USA Team for the Leeds Triathlon 2019!
We look forward to this awesome event every year here at Circle 8 Massage, as it’s great hearing the reasons as to why people are taking part whether it’s just a personal goal or for a special cause or a charity sponsor.
The Leeds Triathlon is an Olympic distance event consisting of a 1.5km swim around Roundhay lake, a 40km bike ride and finishes off with a lovely 10km run (as if they haven’t already done enough) around the not so flat Leeds City Centre.
We were lucky enough this year to get an email from TEAMUSA management asking if we could massage their elite team prior to the event. I must admit we thought it was a joke at first, as normally Elite team’s have their own Sports Therapists but the American Team wanted to use a local business this year. We of course jumped at the chance as it’s not very often we get the chance to massage the world’s sporting elite!
It was a fantastic opportunity not only to massage some of the Worlds best Triathlete’s but also to gain an insight in to how they train and also how they take care of themselves and avoid getting injuries.
It was an absolute pleasure to meet these guys, such a friendly team and we had a great time talking to them about the sport and themselves.
So what do we know and what did we learn?
We do know Massage Therapy can benefit athletes in many ways. It can help to speed up recovery after a heavy day of training because massage helps to increase blood flow to the muscles which will help to flush out metabolic waste much faster. Regular massage can also help prevent injury by keeping the muscles relaxed and knot free and can stop potential injuries or dysfunctions occurring.
- Elite Triathletes train for between 25 and 30 hours per week, split between the swim, cycle & the run.
- They have a minimum of 2 Sports Massages or Deep Tissue Massages per week, mixed in with physio and osteo.
- They travel ALOT!… Some of the athletes we massaged arrived in the UK Wednesday and the race itself was Sunday. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to rid yourself f the jet lag and get “Race Ready”.
- Many Athletes get noticed at quite a young age and coaches always look for talented swimmers as it is much easier to train someone to run or cycle than it is to swim proficiently.
It was also interesting to learn that all of them had full degrees and completed these degrees alongside the rigorous Triathlon training!
Massage Therapy can benefit athletes in many ways. It can help to speed up recovery after a heavy day of training because massage helps to increase blood flow to the muscles which will help to flush out metabolic waste much faster. Regular massage can also help manage or prevent injury by keeping the muscles relaxed and knot free and can stop potential injuries or dysfunctions occurring.
Here at Circle8Massage we all agree that frequent massages are far more beneficial for an athlete as opposed to waiting until every muscle has seized up to the point you can’t straighten your legs and your tendons feel rock solid! We believe if you are serious about your sport and want to be competitive within your sport it is essential to integrate either Sports Massage or Deep Tissue massage in to your training routine.
We were also lucky enough to have one of the guys finish in 2nd place, Matthew Mcelroy, funnily enough he was the only athlete to have a massage the evening before the event, I’d like to think my massage helped in some way 🙂
Also a big congratulations to Taylor Spivey who came in at a close 4th after a very close race!
I am not an elite athlete, do I still need to get Massages?
The answer is absolutely. For a recreational athlete or someone who competes in any sport of hits the gym regularly, a proper deep tissue massage or sports massage will help you massively. Be it hitting a new 10km run time to having the flexibility within the gym to be able to complete a deadlift or a squat properly.
Massage can help with aches and pains, dysfunctions, postural issues and even injuries, so whether you compete at a high level within a sport or are simply hunched over a desk all day Circle8Massage will certainly be able to help you.
