Give some love to your tense muscles & start foam rolling. Here’s how…
Give some love to your tense muscles & start Foam Rolling. Here’s How…
Do you ever leave out stretching and foam rolling because you are short on time? Sure, it can be difficult to get the workout time in and easy to dismiss the importance of making time to stretch. You may want to reconsider that logic because stretching and foam rolling will increase your performance, lessen your risk of injury, and help reduce soreness and pain. Read on to learn why you will thank yourself for taking the extra bit of time to add foam rolling to your fitness routine.
What is Foam Rolling?
Foam rolling is a form of self-myofascial release, which is just a fancy name for self-massage, and more specifically a deep tissue or sport massage.
When should you foam roll?
You can foam roll before or after a workout, but before you stretch. When you foam roll, you are looking for areas of tension where you will then apply deeper pressure to break up adhesions & scar tissue. By performing this before a workout, you help decrease muscle density which will enhance your warm-up. Performing after a workout helps your muscles heal and recover from the strenuous workout you just completed.
It can also be done while watching TV or before bed to alleviate tense spots.
Why should you foam roll?
Because you love yourself and your body. It is taking the time to care for the muscles doing the work for your body. If you allow muscles to continue to be tense, eventually you will have increased soreness and are at higher risk of injury.
How to do it?
Put slight pressure against the foam roller and slowly roll it up or down a targeted area of the body to search for trigger points or spots that are sensitive, some may refer to these as knots. Once you find a spot, remain there for at least 30-45 seconds and then move on to find the next one. Generally, it is safe to foam roll in all areas of your body, but when doing your back do not foam roll your lower back (anywhere lower than your ribcage). It is best to do each area of the body (calf, hip, upper back, glutes, etc) for no more than 90 seconds – 2 minutes before moving on to another area of the body.
Where can I find a foam roller?
Foam Rollers are available at just about any store (or online) that sells sporting goods. And, most gyms will offer an assortment of foam rollers available for your use.
Foam rollers can be found in many different sizes, so use whatever size you feel most comfortable with. Actual foam rollers are thick Styrofoam cylinders, but can also use anything accessible that will allow you to apply pressure and not cave-in to your resistance, ie a softball, frozen water bottle…I have even used a sturdy jar of peanut butter in a pinch. 😊
See how foam rolling is so simple? It may be uncomfortable at first, but eventually you will enjoy the discomfort because when you find the trigger spot, you know you are doing what you need to do to release it. Those new to foam rolling will find more tense areas, but over time they will become less and less.
Now that you know more about why it’s important to foam roll, start making time to care for your muscles so they can do more for you down the road.
Your body is going to L-O-V-E you! ♥️