Performance Massage: Muscle Care For Physically Active People

Now effective high-energy massage techniques are easy for anyone to learn! In Performance Massage Robert K. King, former National President of the American Massage Therapy Association, explains massage therapy for athletes, dancers, and other physically active people. Coaches and fitness professionals will also find this book to be a valuable reference.

Even if the reader has never given or received a massage, this book makes it easy to do! The book is loaded with over 150 color photos that guide the reader step-by-step through all of the skills needed to do Performance Massage with a training partner.

Performance Massage is different from popular relaxation or medical massages in several ways. First, it features a unique combination of muscle stretching and high-impact massage techniques designed to enhance athletic and artistic performance, reduce and prevent injuries, and complement an active lifestyle.

Second, unlike the complicated sequences of traditional massage, Performance Massage teaches specific, easy-to-learn skills that encourage a personalized, ""hands-on"" approach. Both hands feel for problem areas in the recipient's muscles and use massage to:
-stretch and unwind tight areas,

-spread muscle fibers and nourish muscle fibers,

-decongest and oxygenate muscles, and

-reduce tension and increase flexibility. Finally, because therapeutic massage applies direct pressure--not surface strokes--to muscles, lubricants are not needed. Readers will also appreciate that clothing stays on and is considered an additional layer of skin to work through.

It's easy for readers to insert these massage techniques into their exercise routines. The book also shows readers how to combine specific techniques to develop a Warm-Up Massage, Cool-Down Massage, and Maintenance Massage. The techniques require less than 30 minutes to perform and are ideally suited to the fast-paced schedules of athletes, dancers, and physically active people.

In addition to the basic skills and techniques for therapeutic massage, the book features detailed instructions for a whole body massage. It also includes reference information on equipment, touching skills, receiving a massage, and the benefits of ongoing Performance Massage.

Performance Massage can easily be incorporated into anyone's fitness regimen. It's a great way to enhance muscle fitness and improve performance!

As a former competitive weightlifter, boxer, and runner, Robert K. King has personally experienced the reality of coping with muscle strains and maintaining peak performance. For over 20 years he has worked as a professional massage therapist with many world class athletes, dancers, and entertainers such as Joan Benoit-Samuelson, Chuck Norris, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Mr. King is co-founder and director of the Chicago School of Massage Therapy, the largest state-approved vocational massage therapy school in the Midwest. Since 1977 he has held various offices in the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), including Illinois Chapter President, National Director of Education, and two terms as National President. He is also the co-founder and former National Examiner for the AMTA National Sports Massage Team.

As President of AMTA, King developed the AMTA Strategic Plan for Professional Development, resulting in increased public acceptance of massage therapy and a doubling in association membership.

As the former National Director of Education for AMTA, he spearheaded a national drive to help increase educational standards and upgrade school curriculums and continuing education programs.

Robert King is the author of several articles, essays and instructional manuals including Body Mobilization Techniques, a training manual for massage therapists. He also conducts workshops, lectures extensively at schools and hospitals, and appears frequently in national media. He has also completed two instructional videos which are used in massage therapy schools throughout the United States.

A resident of Chicago, Illinois, Mr. King is married to Kathie Taylor King, who is a frequent assistant in his national workshops.