How ExoGun Helped Me Cope With Pandemic-Induced Exercise Fatigue
Living through the past 14 months of the COVID-19 pandemic came with a host of physical and mental challenges for everyone. I found myself looking for ways to cope with the uncertainty and stress of the situation and – after a few weeks of moping, binge-watching Tiger King, and ordering any and all puzzles I could find online – turned to exercise. Being confined indoors though, with no regular softball practices or games, and my gym, barre, and yoga studios all closed, I was left wondering how to become my own personal trainer using just some old dumb bells, a jump rope, and resistance bands.
I tried a few Youtube exercise videos, including attempting to hype myself up with this incredible 1989 national aerobic championship, but it took me a while to get into exercising at home. Like many others, I had to repurpose my 80 sq ft, windowless den (essentially a closet) to serve as my office from 8am – 5:30pm, and then transform it into my gym from 5:30-6:30pm. Eventually, as my yoga studio figured out how to host classes online through Zoom and my stationary exercise bike from Amazon arrived (I highly recommend the $149 Exerpeutic Folding Magnetic Upright Exercise Bike as a gateway drug to Peloton), I got into a pretty good rhythm.
As I realized how critical the endorphins and movement were to my mental health, I also started to feel like it was a way to build my body up physically, to make myself (especially my asthmatic lungs) stronger, just in case I was exposed to COVID. There’s no science behind that, but in my anxious mind, it made total sense. I made myself a Spotify playlist called “Freedom” full of high-energy pop hits like Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar,” “Blinding Lights” by The Weekend, and a lot of inspirational, synth-heavy tropical house music – see “No Worries” by Ehrling – and cranked out an hour to 90 min of workouts 5 days a week in the morning, after work, and on weekends.
I’ve always been a more casual athlete, but I noticed a significant difference in being able to work out consistently most days of the week for the first time in my life. Before COVID, there was always something going on that interrupted my schedule and prevented me from establishing a regular exercise routine – travel, happy hours, commuting 2 hours every day. Consistent exercise had incredible effects on my mood, anxiety, and stress levels – not to mention the added confidence from feeling strong and powerful. Starting every day by pushing myself and seeing progress week over week was super rewarding.
But with frequent and more challenging exercise, especially strength training, also came increased muscle soreness and tightness. I’ve never been very good about stretching after exercise, so I often woke up feeling super achy and stiff. I love a good deep tissue massage and also have booklets with various physical therapy stretches for muscle strains I’ve suffered in my neck and shoulders from stress, tension, and lifting heavy objects. But during COVID, I needed a way to treat muscle soreness at home.
So when Exogun reached out to see if Off the Bench would write a review of the DreamPro, I was pretty excited to give it a try. I vaguely knew about percussive therapy guns, mostly from Theragun ads and some headlines I’d seen about MLB players using them in the dugout to loosen up muscles – including OTBB favorite Yasiel Puig, but had to read up a little to understand exactly how they work.
Percussion therapy guns have only gained popularity in the last year or two, with Theragun leading the way in raising the profile of these massage therapy devices beyond professional athletes and trainers. They’re essentially mini, handheld jackhammers that send targeted pressure into your muscles through quick, repeated strokes. The pressure stimulates muscle tissue and increases circulation to reduce soreness and loosen up knots. It feels like an intense massage, and can actually be quite painful in very tight areas – though in the satisfying way that releases lactic acid. Percussion therapy can also be used before exercise to get warmed up and increase flexibility and range of motion.
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The ExoGun DreamPro is average weight for percussion guns of its caliber, at 2.5 lbs, to deliver up to 60lbs of stall force from a 24V torque motor, and looks vaguely like the radar guns used to measure pitching speed. It comes with 4 attachments that change how the pressure is distributed – my personal favorites were the foam ball for a lighter touch on bigger muscles, and the two-pronged attachment for targeting really tight spots with intense localized pressure.
ExoGun charges quickly, lasts long enough on a charge for multiple uses, and has a useful readout for both its battery level and setting. It has 6 separate levels of intensity and couldn’t be easier to use. It also comes with a convenient carrying case for the gun, the 4 attachments, and the charging cable.
The device is easy to hold and I had no problems reaching my quads, upper shoulders, neck and arms. It does require getting into somewhat awkward split poses on the floor to get at the hamstrings and calves, and you really need a second person to reach your back – but my fiancé and I enjoyed taking turns getting back massages. I first tested the device after a strenuous bike ride and lower body strength training class on one side of my body to compare results, and found that the muscles that received percussion therapy were notably less stiff.
The DreamPro is somewhat less ergonomic than other percussion therapy guns, and even at its light weight, my wrists and hands got tired when holding it in place for longer than 15 seconds at a time or working on a larger area of my body. The instructions say to use the gun for up to 2 minutes in each location, and I couldn’t imagine being able to hold it for more than 30 or 45 seconds at a time. But for someone who does more regular arm strength training, it would probably not be an issue.
ExoGun falls in the lower price range for percussion therapy guns, especially on sale for $159 (70% off the normal price of $600). That makes it a lot more accessible than even the lowest tier model from Theragun, the portable Mini, which goes for $199 even though it doesn’t have a screen or any extra attachments. It’s comparable in specs to the Theragun Pro, which retails for $599, and is a great option for someone looking to try out a professional grade percussion therapy gun without spending a fortune. If you want to learn more about the ExoGun DreamPro, follow this link and use the promo code OFFTHEBENCH for an extra 10% off.
-Karla
