You are losing out on some significant advantages if you have been letting your foam roller collect dust. This straightforward device can increase your range of motion and hasten your recovery. Foam rolling can completely transform your performance, from lessened muscular tension to improved mobility and quicker recovery.
Why include foam rolling in your training?
Foam rolling is a sort of self-myofascial release or self-massage, which broadens your range of motion while relieving discomfort. Although there is still much to learn about foam rolling, a meta-analysis has demonstrated that it can increase flexibility and lessen muscle soreness.
Some think that foam rolling works on the fascia, or connective tissue, that surrounds muscles and organs and holds them in place. When the fascia is under stress, it tightens up and restricts motion. The fascia becomes more flexible after foam rolling as it becomes looser. The key idea behind foam rolling is that it creates increased lubrication between the layers of fascia.
Another reason for better flexibility and mobility following foam rolling is that foam rolling releases trigger points, or knots, in the muscles. This allows muscles that have a lot of tension to release, allowing easier movement. To help here we recommend that when you are on a tight spot, try to hold the pressure on it for 30 to 90 seconds. This will allow the trigger point to release and increase the flexibility.
When to roll the foam
Foam rolling is advantageous before and after exercise. Foam rolling allows you to warm up your muscles without affecting your performance, especially if you do some activation drills or strides before you start a race or key session.
If you have a sore knee, spend time foam rolling the quads. If your Achilles gets sore I would recommend foam rolling the calves. For hip or back stiffness, using a hockey ball into the glutes is a great idea. We give key videos on how to use a foam roller effectively in our Pilates programme, but in general this is how to do it.
Using a foam roller
When foam rolling, there is no right or wrong speed, but make sure you go up and down each part of the targeted muscle. It is important to roll only muscles, never over bone, and stay away from places with thinner tissue (like the back of the knee ). It could be a little more sensitive since it is thinner as you move closer to your tendon area, where the muscle attaches to bone. I wouldn’t recommend foam rolling your neck.
When you find a sore spot, hold on this area as we mentioned for 30 to 90 seconds for it to release, and then re-roll that length of muscle one more time. Spending five minutes on key areas will work miracles.
In addition to not rolling over bone, make sure to avoid rolling over bruises or wounds. While your foam roller will be uncomfortable it should never bruise you. If this happens you have put too much force on the area. Also, it shouldn't hurt to foam roll. By damaging the tissue, working your muscles too hard could actually make them more sore. Reduce your body weight or the force you are applying to the foam roller if you are applying too much pressure.
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