How to Foam Roll.
How to Foam Roll.
Most of you have probably been stretching since sixth grade gym class or any type of sport practice. Foam rolling is new to many people, but a few simple techniques will help make sure you’re rolling right.
Relax: Sometimes, when you’re going over some of those areas that are tender, you tend to tense up, try to relax. As you’re foam rolling, concentrate on keeping your shoulders pulled away from your ears. Reminding yourself to inhale and exhale while you roll will also help ensure your muscles stay loose and relaxed too.
Foam Rolling Moves You Should Be Doing.
Engage your core. As with any other exercise, you’ll want to keep your core tight and engaged while foam rolling. This will help ensure your hips aren’t sagging and throwing your alignment out of whack.
Pay attention to pain. I'm not going to lie, foam rolling doesn’t always feel good. It’s not easy to work out kinks in your muscles. Foam rolling is like getting a deep muscle tissue massage. Some pain comes with foam rolling, if you ever start to feel serious pain, STOP, as you can make an already aggravated area worse. Try not to roll over your joints or bones. Putting extra pressure on your joints could cause injury.
No Pain, No Gain? Myths About Muscle Soreness.
Roll slow. You only want to move about one inch per second while you’re using this recovery or warming up tool. Aim to spend about one to two minutes targeting each muscle group, rolling fully up and down the length of the muscle about four times.
After a workout, in an ideal situation, if you did foam rolling and stretching that would be great, but if you’re short on time, scrap the stretching and dedicate yourself to your foam roller instead. Foam rolling is more efficient in getting out muscle knots, and helping with post exercising soreness.L.G.Fitness-Messiah. #ilivethis #personaltrainer
