Soreness gone with a massage gun
Massage guns provide deep-tissue massage to specific muscle areas. I recently connected with Gene Harper, an industry colleague, who is now the Asia head of Therabody. Some of you might be more familiar with Theragun. And if you’re an athlete or a serious fitness enthusiast, you probably swear by this product.
Massage guns help relax and soothe sore muscles and Therabody is in a class of its own when it comes to percussive therapy devices. It provides deep-tissue massage to specific muscle areas thus, improving range of motion, as well as decreasing muscle soreness.
Dr. Jason Wersland, founder and chief wellness officer of Therabody, invented Theragun to help him with the pain caused by a motorcycle accident.
“Our mission as a company has been to help others with their muscle tension and soreness, whether it’s for an injury, an ailment or working out. We want our customers to know under certain circumstances there are alternatives to taking pain medication,” he said. “And Theragun is one of them.
The Philippine STAR: Theragun was already popular, why rebrand to Therabody?
Gene Harper: To continue to push the boundaries in the tech-wellness space, Theragun has evolved into a new brand identity — Therabody — creating products and services that educate and empower consumers to be in control of their own health. While the brand will continue to champion accessibility and inclusivity through the products, services, and research that Therabody has to offer, it will also provide more solutions that are both natural and effective, further helping the community.
How is your product different from all others in the marketplace?
As the creator and leader of percussive massage-therapy devices, Therabody continues to invest heavily in its research and development, spending the last two years inventing its fourth-generation devices with the most powerful brushless motors and ground-breaking QuietForce Technology. While Theragun Percussive Therapy devices will continue to deliver its signature 16-mms. of amplitude, speed of 2,400 percussions per minute, and power providing deep-muscle treatment, each device now operates at the same quiet sound level of less-powerful vibration therapy devices. It’s similar to the sound of an electric toothbrush. No other device on the market delivers this level of power, ergonomics and quality at such a low- sound level. In addition to the new fourth-generation percussive massage-therapy devices, the brand also developed and launched the first-of-its-kind Smart Percussive Therapy devices with Bluetooth capabilities. These devices enable consumers to use their smartphone to activate wellness routines created by Therabody’s education division Theragun University based on the user’s health activity data through the Therabody app. The Therabody app also provides routines based on ailments, body parts and activities showing the specific muscle, ideal length of time, most effective speed and the amount of pressure that should be applied. The Therabody app can control and customize the device’s speed and users can save their favorite wellness routines directly to presets stored on their Theragun devices for quick and easy access if they are not near a mobile device. All previous Theragun Percussive Therapy models can connect to the Therabody app.
Can you expound on your ongoing partnerships with health and lifestyle apps?
Each of our fourth-generation percussive therapy devices are Bluetooth-enabled and seamlessly integrate with our updated, fully-personalized app experience. Each guided wellness routine we offer was personally conceived of and created by Dr. Jason, and while he can only be in one place at one time, the app provides each person that uses it with a “private appointment” with him when it’s most convenient.
Through our integration with Apple HealthKit, Google Fit and Samsung Health, we’ll suggest guided wellness routines to help you discover new and surprising ways to care for your body. The personalization doesn’t end with the app. Our PRO and Elite devices each can store up to three presets locally. Each preset is a unique combination of speed, time and force depending on the guided wellness routine it stems from. That means that each person’s device is specific to them and can be tailored to their particular needs.
As a long-time corporate leader in the fitness industry, how do you see gyms in general rising up from the challenges of this global pandemic?
Going forward, clubs will have to have several channels to engage with their members such as in-club experience, digital streaming live and on-demand, as well as an online store to purchase digital classes, PT sessions and fitness products. Membership packages will be priced to offer the different options or as a bundle that includes all of the options. I even see clubs offering bikes, treadmill, smart mirrors, as part of their membership package, so that you can work out at home or in the gym and still be engaged with that individual club. The in-club experience will change with less equipment, more space and major attention paid to hygiene and cleaning. I think we will see more outdoor classes, as well as we are already seeing a massive increase in cycling and running outdoors. We have so many great innovators in the fitness industry, so I am sure the next 12 months will bring some super-cool concepts that were created to offset the challenges from the pandemic.
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