During the pandemic I discovered running for the first time in my life. I pounded out a small number of kilometres every few days to preserve my sanity and sent flirty kudos to people I fancied on running app Strava, but my illustrious cross-country career was hampered by unwaveringly tight calves.
No amount of lunges seemed to solve the problem, but this was before massage guns hit the mainstream. Now, there are all sorts of options to warm up muscles and aid recovery.
Hyperice, one of the most innovative brands, has a range of massage guns which use air compression, heat and vibration to deliver a hi-tech treatment.
The latest, the Hypervolt 3 Pro, has a range of attachments to target different areas and comes in three sizes.
The rapid, targeted pulses are designed to drive into muscles to relieve tension and improve circulation.
Weighty and luxurious looking, it is a powerful bit of kit with six different speeds, though even the lowest one is not for the faint hearted.
Best of all, one of the attachments heats up — a dream for knotty backs and necks.
Tech specs
Battery life: Up to four hours
Weight: 1.1kg
Speed: 1500-2500RPM
It’s not cheap at £309 for the pro version, though the regular one (smaller and with five speed settings) comes in at £219 and there is also a travel version for £129.
And it works: after a run in the park it eased my calves and helped take the tension out of my back.
Needless to say, I’ve downloaded Strava again.
