Massage guns are great tools to assist with muscle recovery and many pro teams and athletes around the world praise the tool for its ability to help them warm up, stay loose, and speed up the recovery process. Of course, a healthy diet can also contribute to a better performance in the gym next session, so it’s crucial to have the best workout recovery food on hand after each workout.
Massage guns work by increasing blood flow in muscles, which is important in both training and recovery. Things like foam rollers and traditional massages also aid in blood flow, but foam rollers aren’t precise and massages for men can get expensive quickly. Massage guns are like a DIY deep tissue massage, and regular use can help prevent delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), enhance flexibility, and improve lymphatic flow.
Snailax Mini Massage Gun
Give your muscles some relief with this 4-speed mini massager. You can give yourself a deep tissue massage and even switch between 4 different massage heads in order to really work those kinks out.
Hyperice Hypervolt Plus Bluetooth
This massage gun runs at three speeds: 1,800 percussions per minute (PPM), 2,400 PPM, and 3,180 PPM and includes five removable tips to target specific areas of your body. The Bluetooth feature on the Hyperice guides you through the massage process with precise advice to alleviate sore muscles. It’s a great tool for beginners who are new to the benefits of massage guns to help you learn how to work each and every muscle.
Theragun PRO
This is the Cadillac of massage guns. Theragun is the trailblazer of massage gun products, and their PRO model is best-in-class. This massage gun is 60% quieter than previous models and offers four unique arm positions to reach every part of the body. The customizable speed range can be controlled via Bluetooth in the Thereagun gun app and toggles between 1,750 to 2,400 percussions per minute. It reaches 60% deeper into your muscle than other massagers to relieve tension at the root of your discomfort.
TimTam All New Power Massager
Pro athletes including UFC legend Georges “Rush” St-Pierre, Olympic bronze medalist Dominique Blake, and MMA coach Firas Zahabi love the TimTam massager for its incredible power and immediate relief. The industrial-grade motor delivers 2,500 powerful strokes per minute and one charge is good for over 40 minutes of continuous use.
Wahl Deep Tissue Percussion Massager
This budget-friendly option provides all-around and targeted muscle relief at a fraction of the cost of the other massagers on this list. Featuring four unique attachment heads and variable power speeds of up to 3,350 pulses per minute, this handheld device is a vibrating powerhouse. Sore muscles are no match for this massager.
NordicTrack Percussion Recovery Gun
NordicTrack makes some of the best home gym equipment on the market, and their recovery massager is no exception. The massage gun comes with three textured attachments to targeted relief and three speeds. It’s lightweight and reasonably priced coming from a legacy fitness brand like NordicTrack. Perfect for amateur athletes, this is a great low-cost yet effective entry into percussion therapy.
Kraftgun Force
The Kraftgun is the closest direct competitor to Theragun and has all the bells and whistles you would expect, including three attachments, three speeds of up to 2,400 revolutions per minute, and up to 3.5 hours of work time on a single charge. This relatively quiet massage gun (only 65 decibels) weighs just 2.2 pounds, making it comfortable to handle for extended periods of time to really loosen tight muscles, especially around the back.
Snailax Cordless Handheld Back Massager
Work out those muscles with soothing heat and dual heads. This cordless handheld massage may not technically be a gun, but it works just the same. You can use it with or without heat and you can switch between 3 sets of massage heads for an intense massage that alleviates muscle fatigue.
VYBE Percussion Massage Gun
This excellent Theragun dupe offers all the benefits of a pricy massage gun at half the cost. The VYBE offers nine speeds with a percussion vibration of 1,800 to 3,400 strokes per minute to get deep into the tight, knotty areas of your muscles. Eight massage heads target every muscle group and ensure complete relief from muscle soreness. With a powerful vibration and quiet motor, this massager definitely holds its own weight against pricier models.
Musclegun Carbon
Great for beginners, the MuscleGun Carbon has a stall force of 50, which is less aggressive than other models. If you’re new to massage therapy, it’s a great tool to start out with and help you understand how to harness the power of massage guns to alleviate pain and soreness. Featuring five speed settings, four attachment heads, and four-hour battery life, this lightweight gun works out any tightness or kinks within minutes.
HoMedics Therapist Select Percussion Massager
HoMedics has been a pioneer in massage devices for years. Their percussion massager combines their acclaimed massage technology with the convenience and power that athletes and fitness enthusiasts expect from a massage gun. Three intensity levels, four interchangeable attachments, plus three massage programs allow you to customize a therapy that’s right for you. If you workout often, this tool is a must-have for reducing stiffness and pain.
They may look like some sort of power tool but massage guns are super simple to operate. All you have to do is point, shoot, and massage. The massage gun will do the rest to ease those muscles into recovery mode.
