When my friend Chloe told a room full of people that her husband of less than a year bought her a power waxer for Valentine’s Day, I was worried. She disappeared into a bedroom to reemerge with the questionable gift: a clunky Black & Decker waxer/polisher, the color of a traffic cone. I asked if she had recently bought a car.
“It’s for your body,” she said with a smile.
Chloe’s husband, Ross, gifted her the Black & Decker WP900 Random Orbit Waxer/Polisher, which is designed for car- and boat-polishing projects, but does double duty as a handheld massager. It simultaneously spins and vibrates, creating a friction that’s got an unbelievable way of soothing tired muscles, releasing tension and warming the body. Swirling at an impressive 4,400 orbits per minute, the WP900 is what a foam roller wants to be when it grows up.
Ross first heard about it from a friend, who confided in him that as he got older, working over his aching body with the power tool was the only way he was able to play ultimate Frisbee two days in a row. After further research, Ross confirmed that while his friend’s recommendation was admittedly weird, “It wasn’t going to kill us.”
A thread on Reddit/Fitness echoes the sentiment: “I love my buffer; best workout investment I’ve ever made. I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t caught on more. I guess the premise seems odd, but the results are really legit. I used to have to warm up for like 30 minutes to get my legs loose enough to really squat effectively. Now with the buffer, I can just buff my legs out real quick before I leave, then do a sensible warm up and get to work.”
And on Amazon, peppered in between reviews from car-detailing fanatics, you’ll find the odd rave from someone else who has figured out its secret power: “It’s way better than handheld devices that are meant as massagers — it is much better built and more effective.”
For $30, it’s a steal. A comfortable two-handle grip makes it easy to use yourself. Use it before heading out on a run, to get a head start on your warm up, or after a stretch. Here’s how: With a pair of leggings, or other relatively thin pants, sit on the floor with your legs out in front. Holding both handles, go back and forth, up and down your legs to free up strained calves and tight thighs, as the WP900 spins you toward muscle recovery. Enlist a friend, who will undoubtedly be skeptical, to fight the knots in your shoulders and back. Be sure to tie up any long hair to keep it out of the fast-moving WP900’s way.
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