Foam rollers and massage guns are two of the most common recovery devices out there. What if you … combined the two? Meet the Chirp RPM, a $250 device that’s essentially an amalgamation of two devices we already know and like. The RPM is shaped like a rolling pin, with eight bumpy roller bars making up the “foam roller” aspect of the device; when you power it on via the button on the handle, those rollers start spinning and digging into your muscles a la a massage gun.
Both of these familiar tools have proven benefits. You can significantly decrease your soreness up to 72 hours after a workout if you foam roll post-exercise, a study published in The Journal of Athletic Training determined. On top of that, percussive therapy — which uses rapid and repetitive pressure combined with vibration therapy — was deemed to be as effective as manual massage and “possibly more effective” than foam rolling in a 2021 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
The Chirp RPM seemed like a win-win in terms of boosting recovery, so we put it to the test during our final week of training for the New York City Marathon. Here’s what you need to know about this device before you buy.
The Chirp RPM is a mash-up of massage gun and percussive therapy. And though it can be a loud during use, it offers a powerful massage that targets up to 7 inches of surface area for even more relief.
What we liked about it
It’s pretty powerful
A traditional foam roller is used for self-myofascial release, which means you have to apply pressure to it in order for it to massage your muscles and the fascia around them (picture sitting on top of it to get at your glutes, or leaning back onto it to relieve back tension). You can still control the amount of pressure with the Chirp RPM — for example, when we pressed our sore back into the device the day after a heavy lifting session, we got a deeper massage than when we merely leaned against it.
Unlike a foam roller, though, this powered option simultaneously delivers a rolling massage and percussive therapy as each bumpy bar rolls into the muscle (with a massage gun, the percussive therapy comes with a repetitive punch). The RPM, which can reverse directions, has five speeds — each individual roller bar revolves 120 to 300 times per minute, which means you’re getting a total 960 to 2,400 revolutions per minute, a similar speed to a massage gun (because of the rolling percussion versus punching, it’s not exactly a 1:1 comparison). And it penetrates the muscles up to 13 millimeters, similar to the depth of a massage gun.
It covers a wider area than a massage gun
Your average massage gun targets about 2 square inches of surface area; the RPM can cover up to 7 inches. It’s not precision massage, but it allows you to target larger muscle areas like the legs, glutes and back. And you can actually hold it like a rolling pin, pressing down on the button that activates the roller and holding it by the handle on each side to massage your muscles. Our preference was to leave it in its tray and drape our body parts atop it. Case in point: When our calves knotted up with 10 days to go until the New York City Marathon, we propped them up on it while reading and let it go to work. Considering the battery lasts 120 minutes, we could have easily stayed like that for hours (when positioned correctly in the tray, the button to engage the roller is automatically pressed down so you don’t have to hold it down).
What we didn’t like about it
It’s a little unwieldy
With the stand, the RPM weighs just under 5 pounds; in your hands, it’s 3.68 pounds. It’s not particularly heavy, but it does require two hands due to the size and shape (it’s about 20 inches long, 5 inches high and 7 inches wide). The Theragun Pro+, a pretty sizable massage gun, is slightly lighter but significantly easier to maneuver with one hand. The RPM is easy enough to stow around the house, but we can definitively state that this is not a portable recovery device.
It’s loud
Massage guns, like the Theragun Pro, have made an effort to tone down the noise, which can be a little intense (especially for a tool that’s supposed to promote recuperation and relaxation). But there’s no getting away from the clacking of the plastic rollers on this device. Compared to the subdued, futuristic whir of the Theragun, in particular, the Chirp RPM’s volume skews more towards the hair dryer end of the spectrum. It also gets louder with every increase in speed. The noise doesn’t take away from the benefits, but might make it something you avoid using, say, right before bed.
How it compares
There are other vibrating foam rollers on the market, like Hyperice’s Vyper 3 ($199) and Therabody’s Wave Roller ($149), but the RPM is the first to provide vibration plus percussive therapy. The main difference there is that while vibration can still alleviate soreness, research from Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research shows percussive therapy gets way deeper into the muscle. Otherwise, the Chirp RPM shares a number of features with any standard massage gun, including speed and massage depth.
Bottom line
Essentially a foam roller and massage gun in one, the Chirp RPM packs a one-two punch when it comes to recovery. We’d recommend this to anyone with an old-school foam roller gathering dust under their bed, or someone looking to attack more muscular square footage in one go than a massage gun can handle. Despite its volume and lack of portability, this is a tool we can see ourselves using regularly pre- and post-workout.