A male client enjoys at mud facial. (Courtesy Nemacolin Woodlands Resort)

FARMINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA -- It takes a real man to subject himself to a massage, a facial and a pedicure all in the same day.

The times are changing and that's exactly what more and more men are doing on their vacations--18 holes of golf, maybe a bit of rock-climbing, perhaps a tough tennis match--and then straight to the spa.
 
Admittedly it took a bit of prodding--and some sound marketing--before I subjected myself to a full body treatment, but what I found at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa in Farmington, Pennsylvania (about an hour south of Pittsburgh) was scores of burly, tough guys subjecting themselves to what was once the domain of wives and girlfriends--the spa treatment.
 
When I saw a few of the male-specific treatments on the menu at the $21 million spa complex, I knew it was time to take one for the team and find out for myself what the fuss about spas was all about.
 
A few gym-related kinks in my shoulders needed attention and Woodlands Spa’s selection of massages that included one neuromuscular version seemed to be an appropriate--and masculine--treatment.
 
Passing through the dim, neutrally-coloured hallways of the spa, massage therapist Alik Minikhanov explained the process.
 
"Neuromuscular massage releases trigger points and also re-aligns muscles," he said of the treatment that also helps to relieve sore points, partially repair muscle tears and relieve scar tissue.
 
What I quickly found out was that this type of massage was not for those who have an aversion to painful therapies.
 

The resort's Chateau Lafayette at sunrise. (Courtesy Nemacolin Woodlands Resort)