Ask any athlete what is a foam roller is and they will tell you. It is a common tool used amongst sport people to do self massage and stretch. But it also may be used as a tool for strength training. Today nearly every sport conditioning or athletic room will have some form of foam roller.
The reason why foam rollers are so popular is because they are cheap and they work. That’s what we love the most.
My goal is to always bring you information to help you train smarter, more effectively and to get results. So this little gem could be your next wee toy in your journey to becoming forever fit.
The benefits of using a foam roller
It can help improve your core strength and stability training, enhance balance, body awareness, muscle re-education, flexibility, myofacial release and assists with general stretching. Using a foam roller aids in postural alignment and muscular self-massage. Foam rollers are used as a tool for Pilates core abdominals, back stabilization and strengthening exercises. They are also used by physiotherapists for patients to self massage and relieve tension. A foam roller is a poor mans massage therapist or your take home masseuse.
What is a foam roller and how to use it
Self Massage – It is a piece of foam in the form of a cylinder. It is simple to use, you basically lie on it and roll your body part over it. The roller applies pressure to the tight areas and you can simple stay in that position and work on trigger points, applying as much pressure as you want.
It is often used to apply a long sweeping motion to long muscle groups such as calves, adductors and quadriceps. You can also get into smaller areas with directed pressure such as hip rotators, glute medius and shoulders. There are lots of different methods and I will go into this in a later post with a video to explain.
Strength Training – It can also be used to strength train, I will also go into this in a later post also, but think of all the exercises you do with a swiss ball, you can do many of them with a foam roller.
