A foam roller is a great self-care tool that can do everything from massage sore or tired muscles, help create more mobility around your joints, and decrease muscle soreness from tough workouts.
You can’t add this into your pre or post workout routine too much – it’s great combined with stretching or on its own.
Rolling over your muscle tissue smooths out and lengthens the underlying connective tissue that surrounds your muscles – your fascia – and if you have one – or have access to one it’s a great tool to use regularly.
When using it, remember to stay aligned, keeping your body straight in a plank position either on your hands or forearms. Stabilize with your other foot and hands.
Always relax the limb or muscle you’re applying pressure to. You don’t want pressure on a contracted muscle, it’s just painful and also decreases the amount of release that’s possible. If you find an especially tight or sore area, hang out on it until it’s more tolerable to continue rolling.
Foam Rollers
Beginner Foam Roller: this roller is a little softer, and will still give you a great result but be a little gentler on your body from a pressure standpoint. This is a great roller to get if you use it sporadically or are new to foam rolling.
Higher density foam roller: this is a good roller if you use the roller regularly, are used to applying pressure and are comfortable with the positioning.
Textured Roller: this roller has knobs on it that can make it the most uncomfortable roller out there – but it is really effective for digging into trigger points and releasing stuck fascia. Not for beginners.
MORE TOOLS and RESOURCES:
Stretching Guide
This guide has individual stretching videos for each of your body areas. It’s a great resource.
Full Body Stretching Flow
This post has a full body stretching sequence you can follow along with.
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