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Massage has long been known to hold the key to pain relief. But a recent study by researchers at McMaster University and Cal-Berkley has suggested that post-workout massage conveys significant benefits for muscle recovery.

The results have important implications for different massage techniques including manual massage, professional massage, and post-workout massage. Massage stretches and kneads muscle fibers, which stimulates production of key proteins that increase production of mitochondria (giving the cells more energy), lower inflammation, and ultimately, repair of disrupted muscle tissue. The study says just 10 minutes of massage is enough to stimulate these benefits after an intense workout.

The research team instructed 11 male subjects to perform intense exercise until exhaustion. At the conclusion of the exercise period, the test subjects received a massage to one of their legs chosen at random. Biopsies of the massaged and non-massaged muscles were collected immediately after the massage and again 2.5 hours after the massage. After confirming that the muscle tissue had undergone sufficient stress during the exercise (by counting the percentage of torn or disrupted muscle fibers), the research team measured the amounts of relevant proteins and mRNA molecules induced by the exercise and the massage.

The findings suggest that athletes can reduce inflammation and aid in muscle recovery by including a ten minute massage session at the conclusion of their workouts.

Read the study

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Way back when, in dreary March 2011, we at Moji decided that we needed a daily rejuvenator for our workout routines. We named it the Moji Jam of the Day. This inaugural year of Jam of the Day proved to be an interesting one. Jams ranged from holiday themed jingles (Neil Young on Fourth of July) to location specific diddies (Irish Punk for the Boston Marathon) and we even took requests from some special Moji fans.

Since the end of the year is upon us, it was only fitting for us to come up with a Best of 2011 list of some sorts. However, instead of us deciding what our playlist should contain, we declared this playlist to include what YOU liked. Heck, you had to listen to these sometimes ridiculous tracks (not apologizing for our ABBA obsession)!  So we scoured all of our selections for Jam of the Day, entered all the soundbytes and megabytes into a Google Spreadsheet and calculated which tracks were the most talked about on our Facebook page in 2011.

Hence, this list of 15 tracks is Moji’s 2011 compilation of your most discussed jams on our Facebook page. We must say, you guys have good taste! Download the mix on the link below, or scroll down to listen right from this page.

What do you want to hear in 2012?

Foot

Ankle

Achilles

Calf/Shin

Knee

Quads/Hamstrings

Shoulder

Hip

Where will you wear yours?

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In case you missed the memo, it’s Halloween.  Which deserves an enthusiastic MOOHAHAHA.  After all, as athletes, our lives lend themselves to a certain Halloweeny-ness.  Fear and fun are the foundation of our athletic pursuits.  Indeed, both the sports we do and this freakishly fun holiday are based on the central truth that:

Adrenaline Rush + Friends + Physical Activity + Cool Outfits = Fun

To honor this truth and the imminent feting of fun and fear, we have compiled videos of relatively unknown athletes who are, simply put, scary good.  These men, women and children embrace fright to elevate their sports to dazzling heights.  Each with a freakish combination of natural talent and a strange propensity to believe in their own strength beyond reason, will mesmerize you as you watch in terror, awe and delight as they gracefully complete death-defying feats.

Get yourself a fistful of candy corn, some headphones and enjoy.

Scary Good Biking

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

We’ve previously sung the praises of Danny McAskill but couldn’t resist including him in this group of scary good athletes.  Danny takes on the craziest stunts on two wheels and does death-defying skills effortlessly.  So effortlessly, in fact, that it might not even seem that scary to you.  But, trust us, it certainly is.

Scary Good Rock Climbing

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Most pets don’t do much for one’s athletic career but this teenager’s childhood sidekick (a West African monkey) inspired her to ascend to unbelievable athletic heights…literally. Now Tori Allen is teen queen of women’s rock climbing taking the women’s gold in world competitions across disciplines. To learn more about her superhuman skill check out this Discovery Channel segment.

Just Scary Rock Climbing

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Even after the 132nd viewing, this video still puts my stomach in my chests.  Alex Honnold owns free climbing.  As you watch this incredible athlete take on one of the world’s most treacherous bouldering climbs, feel free to cling white-knuckled to your armrests.

Awesomely Old, Scary Good Gymnast

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

I don’t know what I’ll be doing when I’m 82 years old, but I would say that there’s maybe a 0.2% chance it will be trampolining for gold.  And yet, John Rigby is doing just that.

Scary Good Kayaking

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

They’re all crazy.  That’s how I feel about kayaking and that’s precisely why I chose a beautiful compilation of kayaking feats of athleticism over singling out one particular insane athlete.  Huge rocks and plunging rapids call for death but the river seems to permit these select few to pass.  Unreal.

Scary Good Ultimate

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

So, here’s a cute lil video of Beau Kittredge, Ultimate (Frisbee) god, in a recent match.  What’s notable about this particular performance is that he catches the disc midair while effortlessly leaping over another man.  I’ll say that again.  He catches the disc midair while leaping over another man.  Here is where I fall short on this feat of agility and strength.  1. Actually catching a Frisbee.  2.  Catching anything midair.  3. Leaping over other people.  And, here’s the kicker, it doesn’t seem as if Beau even noticed that he did anything extraordinary.  Just another day as superman.

Scary Good Surf Prodigy

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Most athletes cannot claim to live on their field of choice.  A baseball diamond or a soccer pitch, do not make for reasonable backyards.  However, John John Florence’s backyard has always been both play area and training ground for what he seems destined to do – take surfing to a whole new level.  Take a look at a young John John and his mother as they talk about his physical and geographical natural gifts and then see how far he’s come today with this video.  With a little more power and a few more years under his belt, he might just reach Poseidonesque stature over the waves.

Scary Good Potential

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

What’s 28 lbs, 31″ tall and as adorable as the day is long? Given Goodwin, 22 month old son to surf pro Daize Shayne Goodwin.  Blessed with both genetics and geographic locale, this tiny tot is already on a longboard, carving out so water with his phenomenally talented mom.  While the mom-assisted surf session could arguably be accomplished by any babe, the sheer joy on his spray-splashed face speaks to an innate passion for the sport that is what turns the ingredients to amazing athletic success (amazing genetics, access to the sport, incredible mentors) into mastery.

alan(ator)/flickr.com

The ING New York City Marathon is less than 2 weeks away and we at Moji want to help set the mood for the thousands of NYC runners and ten thousand local volunteers who are preparing for the 41st running of this incredible event.   So, we have racked our brains and scoured the internet for the greatest NYC songs of all time.  Though there are undoubtedly more Big Apple tunes than we’ve compiled, these represent 30 of the very best.

The blend of slower beats and blood-pumping rhythms should provide you with ample tunes to carry you all the way from pre-race to the finish line.   The playlist starts below but click through to see all 30 songs and enjoy what the city that doesn’t sleep has inspired.  If after all that, you can get enough, check out more race day music on Moji’s Ultimate Marathon Playlist.

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