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Where can I go to recover from Boxing, Muay Thai and MMA sparring?

7 Treatments for Recovery at a Specialist Facility

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This is a sequel to 8 Methods for Boxing and MMA you can do at home. The key difference of these methods is that they are Treatments to be done at a Professional facility, by a Professional, for a fee or membership. Like the previous list most of these methods will have similar benefits for pain relief and rejuvenation. I am literally writing this in the evening when I did Muay Thai and MMA  classes back to Back, like the Lethal Weapon 3 cover. 

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lethal weapon 3 Movie Cover

 

This is 24 hours after a body slamming wrestling session. Both in hot rooms with no ventilation, both on one of the hottest days of the year in London, reaching as much as 80 degrees fahrenheit. To say I am not exhausted, bruised and in pain is an understatement. I will surely be using the methods on my previous post to recover, especially that i go again in 24 hours with MMA grappling lessons. Which is full of Lions who dislike when I out do them on the striking days who at least a couple will have a huge chip on their shoulders. As I am committing to this pain and progress journey. I thought payday is coming up at the end of week so what time better than now to research and write to you: 7 methods you can use to recover from boxing, muay thai, MMA and combat sports Sparring and drills from a Specialist and or at a Specialist facility:

 

Sports Massage

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This has been an age-old favourite for fighters at all levels for decades. I remember one of my closest friends when he was enroute to becoming the National Amatuer Boxing Champion in his weight class a decade ago. Told me of his weekly, sometimes twice a week sports massage sessions which made ready for his gruelling 6 sometimes 7days a week Boxing sessions. With these benefits you can understand why:

  • You are being worked by a highly skilled Professional who has the qualification to match
  • Increased blood flow to the muscles
  • Relief from muscle pain
  • Breaking down scar tissue which can lead to tension when it builds up over time
  • Increase range of motion, which is essential in striking fighting disciplines
  • Enhance athletic performance

Him making a conscious decision in his early 20s to take his recovery seriously assisted his successful campaign to becoming a National Champ.

 

Acupuncture

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If the previous method has been used by top athletes for decades, the Acupuncture has been used by warriors for centuries.

This Ancient Chinese treatment has been used by the elites of society from noble warriors to Emperors and their households. Fortunately enough a few millenniums have gone by so the common manas well as the perceived high society can benefit from its treatments. 

What is Acupuncture? This is a Chinese healing system where thin needles are carefully inserted into the body to cure pains and illnesses.

Now you may be thinking ‘how can this Ancient Chinese medicine that sounds uncomfortable and perhaps even help my recovery. Here are a few benefits:

  • Decreased inflammation 
  • Speeding up the healing process
  • Reduction of pain
  • Increased flexibility
  • Increase endurance, which is an essential part of training let alone fighting. You can have the most powerful missile on the planet but it is almost useful if you haven’t got the rocket fuel to carry it.

I have a friend who trains in boxing and regularly works out in the gym and he swears by this treatment. Over some more western recovery methods.

 

Jacuzzi/Whirlpool Bath

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This is an a step up from an usual bath as the water in the tub is recirculated by an electric motor which pumps the water through its jets. This not only adds a luxurious touch to a regular hot tub aesthetically but also adds a more comfortable and therapeutic experience. Also just like Acupuncture, this type of bath and therapy has existed for many centuries, perhaps many millenniums. The similarities and inspiration can be drawn from hot springs which can be found all over the world in different climates and are huge tourist attractions to this day. Apart from being seen as a luxury, here are benefits a whirlpool bath can add to your recovery:

  • Widening of the blood vessels pumping nutrients all over the body
  • Helps reduce swelling
  • Loosens muscles
  • Can improve mental clarity and reduce stress
  • Improves sleep

When I first started weight lifting over 15 years ago I starters out in a health centre which was slightly upscale, before switching to more hardcore bodybuilding gyms. In that health centre you had your usual workout space for weights and cardiovascular workouts but with a few other rooms and equipment I will touch on in this post there was a jacuzzi. Which I will use a few times a month after a workout and I can definitely feel the benefits of relaxation and muscle loosening of Hydrotherapy. With a lack of lactic acid build up the next day on the worked on muscles as well as feeling refreshed after leaving the gym.

 

Sauna

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This is another facility which was at that saem premium Health Centre I used to use several years ago. Which like the jacuzzi is a favourite in upscale gyms and Hotels alike for its luxurious appeal and also its health benefits. For decades professional athletes, specifically bodybuilders, boxers and MMA fighters, have used the sauna rooms as an essential pre fight tool. Which you may have seen widely used for its weight cutting capabilities by reducing the amount of water weight your body is holding. With most use to get down to agreed fight weights which for most of the time is many pounds less than the weight they normally train and walk around at.

When it comes to anything, health and fitness, weight or weight control plays a major, if not the major motivation for people to take up life benefiting activities. I know a few years back when I wanted to add my love of combat sports to my fitness regime instead of the boring LISS workouts I was doing at the time to cut body fat. LISS – Low Intensity Steady State cardio: Which normally have me walking at a steep gradient on a treadmill, cycling, rowing or using a cross trainer machine. For usually 30 mins to an hour at a time for best results first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or after a weightlifting when your metabolism functions have activated. 

When researching the benefits of boxing, muay thai and grappling one of the factors i was looking at was how much calories i could burn in an hour session.

The sauna has a key weight cutting factor for our favourite fighters but also here are a few more:

  • Muscle pain reduction
  • Reduced inflammation
  • Improves cardiovascular performance
  • Reduce fatigue
  • Assist blood circulation
  • Improves sleep quality

Cryotherapy

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From extreme heat now to extreme cold. Cryotherapy or cold therapy is where you undergo below freezing temperature treatments as low as 300 degrees fahrenheit. Due to the extreme cold temperatures of this treatment a session is typically the length of a amatuer Boxing fight round (2 minutes) to a Professional MMA fight round (5 minutes). The most well known procedure of cryotherapy is the Cryotherapy Booth. This normally happens when you stand in a booth which exposes almost your full body to the freezing treatment for a few minutes. The most elite athletes from olympic, team sports to fight sports will incorporate this into their recovery regime for its multiple benefits. If you are like me, then you are not someone who is susceptible to cold. As much as I feel great from a solo jog and shadow boxing workout outdoors in the pitch black on a winter morning. Or when choosing to have a cold shower every no and again first thing in the morning before work. I really have to dig deep to get out of my comfort zone to do these things which involve the cold. However when i do these things I realise how much it is combating my anxiety of doing things which don’t involve Netflix and chilling. With many smarter people than myself with degrees and doctorates mentioning that anxiety can lead to depression. Then once your in the booth more healing can begin from:

  • Reduced inflammation
  • Increased energy
  • Regulating your body to higher pain thresholds
  • Decreased muscle pain and aches
  • Accelerate muscle recovery

Cupping Therapy

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This therapy has become increasingly popular in recent years with MMA fighters. Where you sometimes see the fresh large dot marks on their backs when they enter the cage. However just like hydrotherapy, massages and acupuncture this method has ancient origins, with some practices dating back milleniums. This treatment is when heated glass cups are placed on the skin then as the cup cools it creates a suction to skin to cause the distinct bruise. As this may cause blood vessels to break in this process as part of the treatment it is widely recommended for it to be administered by someone who knows what they are doing. Still if you watch as much MMA as me you may be wondering what is all the hype about? Well here are some of this treatments benefits:

  • Reduction in muscle sores and aches 
  • Reduction in recovery time
  • Speeding up the repair of muscle and soft tissue breakdown
  • Can help you help relax more 
  • Can aid in weight loss
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Dwayne Johnson, Michael Phelps, Conor McGregor showing their cupping dots

As stated this is one of the shiny new things which our favourite MMA fighters are drawn to like Conor McGregor but you also have athletes in other sports sporting the iconic large dots from: WWE superstar and Hollywood Blockbuster Megastar Dwayne Johnson to the most Decorated Olympic Swimmer of all time Michael Phelps.

 

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

Is commonly administered to you when laid down and completely covered in a chamber of increased gas pressure mainly oxygen. This increased air pressure feeds oxygen to the lungs at a quality you can not normally receive especially in urban areas. This therapy has many benefits to assist recovery such as:

  • Increase oxygen capacity that can help your breathing and increase your endurance levels
  • Increased stem cell production
  • Reduction of tiredness
  • Helps to fix damaged tissues to aid muscle repair.
  • Helps sleep

With oxygen being as essential to life as water you can see how this treatment can assist your recovery.

 

Hopefully you got some use from reading this post which is the second volume in the Recovery Series and feel free to click HERE to read the first volume. You may have noticed these 15 treatments in total including the ones you can do at home have very similar recovery properties. Which tend to include; pain relief, reduction inflammation, increased blood circulation and regulation of sleep to name a few. With any of these treatments can be used to your preference and your budget when you see fit. You also may be thinking 
“Paul, some (maybe all) of the treatments mentioned above I have at home at my beckon call.” Well if that’s the case you are someone who takes their health really seriously or have a lot of money and if it is the latter i wouldn’t mind a donation, lol. Jokes aside you can buy these facilities online with sauna boxes starting from the hundreds to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy chambers going way into the thousands. Whichever recovery option is currently your medicine, you may want to try or add any of these additional methods to your recovery regime.

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