How to Give Yourself a Killer Massage

Everyone likes to get a massage, and they don’t just feel good—they’re pretty good for you too. Massages increase blood flow to areas of tension and promote muscle health and healing, and can thus be particularly beneficial to athletes. Unfortunately, we can’t all get a personal masseuse to pamper us regularly. It is possible, however, to give yourself a pretty decent massage with a few simple tools, some of which you probably already have lying around your home.

Do-it-Yourself Deep Back Massage

When I’m feeling sore or tight, this is one of my favorite fixes. Take 2 tennis balls and put them inside an old sock, like this:

Lie down on your back on the floor with your knees bent up. Place the sock at the base of your spine, so that your spine sits in the groove between the two tennis balls. Try to relax and melt into the tennis balls. You should feel significant pressure, and if you’ve never done anything like this it’s possible that it could hurt quite a bit. As long as it’s a deep massaging feeling and not a sharp injury kind of feeling, the pain is good. After about a minute, roll your body downward so that the tennis balls move 2 inches or so up your spine. Stay on this spot for a minute, and repeat until you reach your shoulders, or as close to the base of your neck as possible before you can no longer keep the sock underneath you. You’ll likely feel more and more pressure as you move up toward your shoulders. You get a slightly different massage with your knees up or down, or with your arms over your head or across your chest. Experiment and see what feels good.

Make sure to relax and breathe deeply. The whole process will probably be rather uncomfortable, but when you finish and stand up, it really feels great. Your back and shoulders will be looser, and you’ll notice a difference in your posture too.

If you need a deeper massage, you can try lacrosse balls, which are harder. They may be a bit large for some people, though. I also have a device called the Ma Roller, which you use the same way and it works WONDERFULLY. If you don’t mind the expense and want a little more pressure, I recommend it. However, the tennis balls do get the job done.

Lighter Total Body Everyday Massage

If you’re an athlete, think of this as part of your warmup. This should be the first thing you do before any workout, practice, or game, even before you go into your normal warmup routine.

For this, you’ll need a foam roller. We offer a great one through our affiliate store called The Grid, and there are a number of other options available through PerformBetter.com as well.

Basically, you’re just going to roll all different parts of your body over the foam roller. You can sit on it and massage your hamstrings, and also get your calves, or flip over and do your quadriceps (the front of your thighs) in the same fashion:

Roll all the way up and down your back, and try leaning slightly to each side to get different muscles:

This position is my favorite; it gets the hips and gluteal muscles:

As you can see, it’s not difficult to give yourself a good massage, and it is extremely beneficial. Give it a try, and you’ll help yourself prevent injury, gain flexibility, and just feel better!