Total Body Enhancement Before or After Workout: What’s Better?

Total Body Enhancement is a relatively underrated feature of Planet Fitness. It’s accessible exclusively to PF Black Card holders only.

The Total Body Enhancement machine is simply an enclosed booth that uses Red Light Therapy and Whole-Body Vibration technology to provide numerous health benefits to the users.

Normally, getting such therapy would cost you anywhere between $50 and $100 per session in spas or wellness centers. But after purchasing their Black Card membership for just $24.99 per month, you can get access to these machines in any of the PF gyms globally.

People use Total Body Enhancement at Planet Fitness for various reasons. Some simply want to get a refreshing massage and experience after a hard day’s workout. Others want to accelerate their muscle recovery process to accomplish their bodybuilding goals quickly.

Most Planet Fitness members, however, treat the Total Body Enhancement program as a post-workout or pre-workout therapy. They all have their different reasons for doing so.

The decision also depends on the two main instruments used in a Planet Fitness Total Body Enhancement booth – bulbs emitting near-infrared light rays and the vibrating footplate. They both offer different sets of benefits to users and have separate use cases.

So, what’s better – going for a Total Body Enhancement session before a workout or after it?

Let’s find out.

Benefits of Using Total Body Enhancement Before a Workout

When you hit the gym, your sole focus should be on performing well in the cardio and weightlifting session.

Many people use the Planet Fitness Total Body Enhancement machine as a pre-workout therapy to improve their strength, endurance, and overall athletic performance.

Let’s dissect the many benefits of using TBE before workouts:

Improved Speed and Strength

Several clinical trials and tests have been conducted on athletes in various fields to test the effect of Low-Level Laser Therapy (RLT) on their muscular performance, strength, and speed.

As per the conclusions drawn after a controlled trial in 2016, Red Light Therapy can increase the sprinting speed and capacity of athletes by a noticeable margin. This is possible only if the athletes receive RLT treatments before their sprints at regular intervals.

Another study was conducted to see if there is any correlation between RLT and an individual’s muscular performance. The results surprisingly showed significant improvements in athletes who received laser therapy with near-infrared light rays.

The muscle performance parameters that showed the most improvements were torque, power, and strength – all of which play an important role in workouts and training.

Greater Mobility

Many people enjoy a nice session on the Total Body Enhancement machine at Planet Fitness to loosen up their tight muscles and increase mobility before a workout.

All compound movements require your joints to move freely and without pain. If you have any tightness in your thigh muscles, for instance, the mobility in your hip region will be greatly reduced, resulting in pain during exercises like squats.

So, a nice session of Total Body Enhancement can help you ease such tightness through its vibrating footplate.

Reduces Injury Risk

When you’re working out at the gym, there’s always the risk of picking up an injury. But scientists found out that pre-exercise LLLT can actually reduce the risk of injury by improving the performance of biochemical markers related to inflammation and skeletal muscle damage.

Another study concurred with this conclusion, stating that evidence suggests that using Red Light Therapy as a pre-workout routine can reduce the risk of muscle damage in athletes.

Increased Blood Circulation

The vibrating foot plate used in TBE booths releases gentle vibrations that can rejuvenate your entire body by improving blood circulation. Thus, your muscles will have a steady supply of oxygen to work with while you are exercising, unlocking maximum potential.

Moreover, improved blood flow will also positively influence your metabolism. So, your body will burn greater amounts of fats and calories while you are engaged in training.

Improved Endurance

No matter how enthusiastic you are about exercising when you hit the fatigued state, you won’t be able to lift your muscles at all. Ultimately, having low endurance can degrade the quality of your workouts.

A simple workaround is using Planet Fitness’s exclusive Total Body Enhancement feature.

In 2015, a meta-analysis was conducted to test the influence of pre-workout RLT treatment on an athlete’s endurance. The tests drew firm conclusions that when Red Light Therapy is used before workouts, it will improve the individual’s time-to-exhaustion, number of repetitions they can perform before failure, and post-exercise recovery rate by a significant margin.

Similarly, a 2018 study involving 16 male athletes concluded that individuals who received RLT as a pre-workout treatment showed signs of reduced fatigue compared to individuals who didn’t get any treatment.

Accelerated Muscle Growth

Many clinical trials suggest that Total Body Enhancement can promote muscle growth in many cases.

For instance, a 2018 study involving 48 male athletes concluded that individuals who receive treatment with near-infrared light rays before exercising show significant improvements in strength and muscle groups compared to other individuals.

The study also indicated that using a Total Body Enhancement machine can be a good way to cure muscle-related injuries and aid the rehabilitation process.

Similarly, a 2015 study indicated that athletes who receive Red Light Therapy before performing knee exercises showed signs of improved gains in their knee extensor muscles, with regard to muscle thickness and peak power.

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Benefits of Using Total Body Enhancement After a Workout

Most people use TBE as a post-workout therapy. Here are the benefits associated with doing so:

Improved Recovery and Reduced Muscle Damage

One of the main reasons why people use Total Body Enhancement as a post-workout routine is because it can significantly improve your recovery process.

A 2016 study proved this hypothesis by conducting a series of clinical trials. The studies indicated that stimulating the targeted muscles after performing any exercise can increase muscle mass, recovery, and athletic performance significantly.

On the other side, the study also drew another conclusion – using RLT as a post-workout treatment can also lead to reduced muscle damage.

Reduced Muscle Soreness

Red Light Therapy after exercising can bring down inflammation and muscle pain significantly. But RLT is not the protagonist in this regard.

The vibrating footplate uses whole-body vibration technology, rejuvenating the body and massaging affected areas. The soothing sensation can help calm inflammation and soothe sore muscles.

Improved Muscle Performance

A 2011 study determined that beginner and moderate-level weightlifters and bodybuilders can improve their muscle performance significantly by using Red Light Therapy after completing their workouts.

The study, as per the experts, indicated that individuals who performed leg-press and then received the RLT treatment showed significant improvements in their muscle performance when compared to individuals who relied solely on strength training.

Toxin Disposal

When you’re working out, your body produces harmful toxins that can negatively impact your performance at the gym and even cause some health-related issues.

The vibrating footplate used by the Total Body Enhancement machine at Planet Fitness is a good way to remove these toxins and other harmful substances.

The gentle vibrations target lymph nodes throughout the body and remove all the accumulated toxins through a process called lymphatic drainage. If you remain hydrated, your body will automatically dispose of such toxins through urine.

Which is Better: Total Body Enhancement Before or After a Workout?

Most Black Card holders at Planet Fitness use the Total Body Enhancement booths as a post-workout or pre-workout therapy on a daily basis. What’s better for them depends on their personal requirements and fitness goals.

For example, if your main aim is to increase your endurance and spend more time at the gym performing hard exercises, using TBE before working out can help. Similarly, if you’re recovering from an injury and need help in performance rehabilitation, use TBE before you start exercising.

But if your requirements are more inclined toward improving post-workout muscle recovery rate or if you just want to have a relaxing session as a reward for your hard workout, your preference should be to use TBE after completing your workouts.

Either way, Total Body Enhancement can offer tons of benefits. When used right, it can be a powerful tool for helping you meet your fitness goals.

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Winding Up

Total Body Enhancement booths are highly useful and completely safe. They use non-invasive healing techniques and offer many health benefits. The replacement of traditional UV rays with near-infrared lights also helps eliminate any potential side effects.

If you use the TBE both as per your needs, you will be able to accomplish your fitness goals much faster.