Imagine you’re riding the Tour de France – how much your legs would burn after the first day – even after the first couple hours! How do major athletes keep going? One little-known helper is the “Soigneur.” In French, the word means ”one who cares for others.” This position is dedicated to supporting the performance of the athlete. On the cycling team, this position packs bags, hands out food and water, and massages the athletes before and after the race.

“Massage?!?” You say, “Really?” Yes. Massage helps.

Massage has been shown to help accelerate muscle recovery in various ways. Massage helps muscles recover by aligning the muscle tissue to promote healing without the formation of knots. Massage can also help to temporarily increase circulation to flush out the build-up of lactic acid and waste in the muscles from working out to help alleviate post-workout muscle pain. Massage can also be beneficial to your overall health and well being by helping to increase flexibility, reduce heart rate and promote better sleep.

Soigneurs give warm-up massages before a race to prepare the cyclist’s leg muscles for the strenuous day of cycling. After, the post-race massage soothes the small set of muscles that the cyclists pushed to the limit for hours on end during the race.

“So…how does this relate to me?” You ask. “…I’m not a Tour de France cyclist.” Or
are you?

Many of us use a limited number of muscles day in and day out in our daily routines so that when we DO workout, cross-train, attend aerobics class, go on a run, lift weights, swim or even play soccer with our kids – we feel it after!

Any one of the Brookstone massagers is designed to help soothe muscles after a workout. To give you all the benefits of a powerful, professional massage in the comfort and convenience of your own home. Apply our massagers to your aching legs, arms, back, shoulders, neck and more to help your body recover after that workout and to keep going until you reach your resolution goals!

Start your workout, enjoy the ride, and help muscles recover more quickly with a rewarding massage!

Not my ankles, by the way.

FELLOW RUNNERS: Paul@Brookstone here. Just ran 9.4 miles in my HICKIES elastic laces and I declare them RACE READY. I’m pretty neurotic and was concerned about whether they’d hold my shoe as securely as I like. They’re actually better than laces in that regard. They contour perfectly to the top of my foot. No lace-shifting or shoe movement.

I also love that I didn’t have to quadruple-knot my laces and tuck them in and blah, blah, blah. Should a pebble ever get in my shoe, removing it and getting my shoe back on will take just seconds, as opposed to the minute+ with laces. Try’em out yourself. And next race, show off your HICKIES.

WARNING: It’s Monday morning, and the writer of this blog is suffering half-a-bye-week withdrawal tremors (thanks, Thursday Night football).

Before you purchase your next holiday gift, ask yourself one question. Does your person like football? If so, you now have the power to make said fan scream and convulse and do a little end-zone dance. It’s your holiday. How intense do you want your gift to be?

Top Football Gifts at Brookstone
1) Autographed NFL Football
This is what we in the business call a game-changing gift. Put this under the tree, and we guarantee your partner will change his or her worst domestic habit (whether it’s not taking out the trash or trash-talking your mother).

Football gifts shopping tip: enter your team’s name in the search box here.

2) Bubba Inflatable NFL Player
Here’s another other approach. Instead of trying to change your spouse into a better, more tasteful individual, just put a giant inflatable lineman on your front yard and be done with it.

3) Autographed NCAA Helmet
If anything, the tribal bond is even more intense when schools are involved. If you’ve married an Irish fighter, a Lou Holtz helmet will have them weeping like a baby till the final bowl game has them weeping like a baby.

4) UltraSoft NCAA Blanket
Bonus: cuddle with each other while cuddling up under your colors.

5) Wireless TV Headphones 
Ok, this is more a gift to yourself. If you don’t like football (or at least not enough to watch Red Zone all night), give these to your spouse and save your marriage. Think of the children.

1) Don’t dry out the bird.

Are your relatives looking a little parched after that last bite of turkey? Next year, use the Brookstone® Grill Alert® Talking Remote Meat Thermometer.

Stick the probe inside the breast, pop the bird in the oven, and Grill Alert will actually tell you when the turkey’s perfect, even if you’re in the other room setting the kids’ table. Mmmm, juicy.

2) Lose the pucker face.

Grammy’s hitting it a little harder than you expected, so you find yourself serving wine that hasn’t had a chance to breathe. No problem. You’ve got the Brookstone Aero Wine Aerator.

Insert its tip into a freshly opened bottle and in less than a minute, Aero “breathes” your wine, bringing out richer, smoother and more complex flavors and bouquet. It prevents that pucker face that comes from drinking younger and, ahem, modestly priced wines.

3) Keep your father off the roof.

Yes, thank goodness he didn’t hurt himself seriously last year, but, really, he shouldn’t be up there. Instead of running heavy electrical cords all over the place, use our Cordless Prelit Greenery. It makes it much easier to decorate indoors and out. It also helps keep the mail carrier from tripping over cords in your front yard.

4) Don’t have another tree fight.

During the first December of my marriage, my mother called up and asked, “Did you have the tree fight yet?” How could she have known?

Many (happy) years later, Brookstone brings peace on earth to all couples attempting to marry different holiday traditions…with Color-Changing Christmas Trees. Full, lush, and easy to put up, and best of all, the lights go from all-white to multi-colored with just the flick of a switch. Couples can switch off and have the kind of tree they grew up with.

5) Use Band-Aids® if you run out of tape.

Don’t ask.