The Foam Roller: What is it, how does it Relate to Flexibility, and how do I use it?

     Hey Guys!

     Today's post is about a device you may or may not have heard about: the foam roller.

     The foam roller acts as a deep-tissue massage, allowing you to break up any knots or scar tissue you might have built up over years and years of training.

My Foam Roller

     Using this device elongates your muscles and stretches them out, granting you enhanced range-of-motion, and improving your flexibility. From my experience, the foam roller grants you flexibility much faster than static or dynamic stretching, and that flexibility seems to last longer. I remember having gone a considerable amount of time without foam rolling and stretching, but I found that when I went back to these activities my flexibility had not decreased drastically.

     In addition, the foam roller is a great tool for completely healing previous injuries by breaking up the knots and scar tissue associated with said injuries. That does not mean that the foam roller is a miracle tool, but it is a more effective healer than conventional stretching.


     Now, you might be wondering how you use the foam roller, and a good amount of people do not know how to use it properly.

     To use the foam roller, select any muscle, tendon, or other area you want to foam roll. Now you want to place that area on top of the foam roller and roll back and forth SLOWLY, but not too slow. You want to do that for about 30 seconds. After that, you want to find your problem areas - the areas where you experience the most discomfort.

     When you find a problem area, pause, and let your muscle relax. Stay in this position for about 30 seconds. If the pain persists, rock from side to side for a few moments to break up that tissue. Mentally tell the muscle or tendon to go to sleep.

     Make sure you spend enough time on the foam roller. I often spend close to an hour foam rolling my entire body. You can literally foam roll any area of your body from your neck to your feet, and I recommend that you do so, especially if you exercise intensely. But if foam rolling takes you an hour, then foam roll for an hour.

     You need some form of active release therapy in any exercise routine, and foam rolling can give you that. You do not want to allow your muscles to constantly build up tension and get tighter and tighter. Your muscles need to relax as well.

     Now, should you foam roll, or should you stretch? I recommend both. There are areas you may be overlooking in your stretching or foam rolling routine, but if you practice both, the chance that you are not hitting every problem area becomes much slimmer.

     After reading this post, I hope you all will consider buying a foam roller. They only cost around $30 and will last you a lifetime. Also, do not buy the basic foam roller. You want to have one the is spiked like the one above so that it can break up deeper tissue.

     Just a bit of caution, when you first start to foam roll you will experience some extreme discomfort. That is normal, but the more you use it, the easier it becomes. When you use it for a few months you will not even feel any pain, rather, it will feel like a massage.

     So that's all folks. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below, and more exercises, stretches, and tips coming soon.

     Get Stronger!
          -Nas