Review: Speed Up Recovery with Hydragun Sports Massage Gun

Performance technology start-up Hydragun believes that everyone, not just professional athletes, should be able to perform at their best every day.

Maintaining peak performance, according to the folks at Hydragun, is for anyone who wants to live life to the fullest, both in body and in mind.

So regardless of whether you are an age-group performance athlete, recreational athlete or simply someone who wants to unwind from the aches and pains of everyday life, you should be able to have access to technology which will help you to do so.

And they hope to achieve this goal with their thoughtfully-designed sports massage guns that optimise and enhance the recovery experience for everyone.

Sports massage guns and what they do

What are sports massage guns, actually, and how do they help? Said Jim Webster, Sports Scientist at Hydragun, “It is a piece of technology that can be used to assist athletes in their recovery. The main use comes from being able to specifically locate and target certain muscle groups for myofascial release.”

Added Jim, “Runners and triathletes can experience high training volume which puts stress on the body. The physical stress causes inflammation in the body. An example of this would be through tearing of muscle fibres. This is commonly known as DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Using the hydragun around training can help with myofascial release, increasing blood flow and elasticity to the muscle.”

While Jim pointed out that visiting a sports masseur also does have its benefits, having a massage gun is more convenient.

He said, “It is the practicality around having the ability to assist your recovery right at your finger tips. You can use a Hydragun at anytime, anywhere. The cost in seeing a masseur on a semi-regular basis can result in the expense being higher throughout a training cycle.”

Not all massage guns are equal

However not all sports massage guns out there in the market are equal, both in terms of pricing as well as quality and effectiveness.

Many massage guns, according to Hydragun, are poorly designed, with some being too weak, others being too strong and some being too loud.

Satisfying yet affordable experience

Hydragun hopes to bridge that gap in massage gun technology – that is, to provide a satisfying yet affordable experience unlike any other, by being quieter, stronger, sturdier, and sleeker. Hydragun’s unique design and build quality is aimed at breaking new ground in recovery technology.

Using my Hydragun

My Hydragun arrived towards the end of February and I have been using it regularly, after my training sessions and long runs, as well as after those times when I have been on my feet for long hours.

And based on my experiences, I have to agree that the Hydragun definitely does wonders in aiding with recovery.

The Hydragun definitely helps

For instance, after I used the Hydragun after a hard 21.1km race which had taken place a week ago on a Saturday morning, my legs really felt a lot better the following day, despite having beaten my personal best for the 21.1km distance.

In fact, I was walking normally on Sunday, and even able to do a slow 5km recovery run with no apparent leg fatigue.

To aid with my recovery, I had been “spamming” the Hydragun on my legs throughout the day, targeting the muscles that had felt that most sore, which in my case, had been the thighs and glutes. This was in addition to using compression wear.

After all, as Jim points out, the Hydragun is only meant to be used on muscles. He said, “Avoid using it on the bones, nerves, joints and tendons.”

I recalled the previous time, when I had run a hard 21.1km race, which had taken place last year in October, I had been unable to walk properly for the next two days, due to having particularly tight and sore muscles.

That said, I admit I had not used a Hydragun or a foam roller after the race in October, due to laziness. I did use compression wear, though.

As the only difference in these two experiences had been the additional use of the Hydragun, I have to say that the Hydragun had definitely worked its magic in helping with my recovery, this time around.

Six massage heads included

To date, I have been using the ball head as I have wanted to massage the larger muscle groups and at the same time, I also didn’t want my experiences with the Hydragun to be too painful at the start.

But Hydragun has everything covered in terms of massaging the whole body, with six different gun heads being included in the box.

The other gun heads in the box are the fork head to target medium muscle groups like the forearms, calves and shoulders, the bullet head for inner joints, as well as one steel head, one flat head and one flat steel head.

The latter three are meant for hard massages for particularly painful muscles.

Device is easy to use

Regardless of what gun heads or setting you choose, I found that the Hydragun is quite simple and fuss-free to use.

It also comes in a beautifully designed carry case for easy storage and portability.

After charging up the device, there is a switch at the back of the gun to toggle the device on and off, and the same switch is pressed to change the speed of the device, from the lowest setting 1 to the maximum setting 6.

To sum it up in a nutshell, using the Hydragun basically feels as though there is something vibrating or pulsating on your skin. And depending on the setting you choose, it can either be soothing, invigorating and calm, or quite intense and teeth-gritting.

Setting 1 gives you a light and easy surface massage, whereas setting 6 gives you a much more intense and deeper massage, that could possibly be painful if your muscles are feeling particularly tight.

Perhaps as I get more used to massaging myself with the Hydragun, I might pluck up the courage to use the more ‘painful’ gun heads together with the highest settings…

To turn off the Hydragun, simply press and hold the same switch, again.

I admit I was surprised by how easy the gun was to use and how everything could be controlled more or less by a single switch. This definitely helps those who are not technically-inclined, like me.

Instruction manual is easy to read

The instruction manual for the Hydragun is included in the inside pocket, and the language used in it, is very simple English complete with large diagrams, great to cater to people who are not tech-inclined. I never can understand manuals that comprise of nothing more than a large chunk of text, so this was good.

The manual had been definitely helpful to me, to learn how to use my Hydragun and what this cool, nifty recovery machine is capable of.

A great recovery tool

I will definitely continue to use my Hydragun moving forward, and I have to say that I certainly recommend this little recovery tool for all avid runners as well as for triathletes, in order to help to boost your recovery and enable you to train at your best.