This is a guest post from Heather of Change is Possible. See below for details.
This might sound a bit over-the-top, but the foam roller is probably the single most influential piece of fitness equipment that I’ve used so far — though my Vibram Five Fingers are challenging that position.
What is a foam roller?
Essentially, a foam roller is a firm, foam “log” that you can use as a personal massage agent. When used properly, it incurs that “Ouch! That hurts! Keep doing it!” that you might otherwise experience at the hands of a competent masseuse.
Since we don’t use our bodies well (see, for example: chairs, cars, computers), our muscles become imbalanced. Some are overused, some are underused, and others are trying to compensate for our weaknesses. It’s a mess, and we can’t feel it because we’ve adapted to it.
A foam roller is a tool you can use on a daily basis (or as you schedule time) to help achieve balance. Contrary to images conjured by its name, there is not a huge amount of rolling involved when using a foam roller.
Using a foam roller on your IT band
Your IT band is a sheath of connective tissue that runs from your hip to your knee on the outside of your leg, and it probably has some muscle knots along it. To work out some of those knots using a foam roller, follow the steps below. For simplicity, I’ll focus on the left side, but all of these routines can be done on either/both side(s).
- Lay the foam roller on the ground.
- Lay on your side with your left hip on the foam roller just below the hip bone, so that your body and the foam roller are perpendicular to each other.
- Lean your weight on your left elbow and forearm, keeping your elbow under your shoulder.
- Your right leg can either lie on top of your left leg or you can bend your right knee and put your right foot flat on the floor in front of (or behind) your left knee.
- Move your body slowly “upward” so that the foam roller is rolling towards your knee.
- Before long, you will probably hit a tender spot. When you find one, stay on it for 20 to 30 seconds. By the end of that time, the pain should have lessened or disappeared completely.
- If you roll the entire distance from your hip to your knee with no tender spots, try it again with a slight forward lean. You can also the position of your top leg from in front to behind (or vice versa) your bottom leg.
- Continue until you find another tender spot or switch legs.
Hurts so good!
I actually use the foam roller on all four sides of my upper leg (quads, IT band, hamstrings, adductors), as well as calves, piriformis (butt), and upper back (lats).
Using a foam roller on your calves
To roll your calves, the process is similar to that described above, but you will be sitting up with your legs extended and the roller positioned just below your knee. Now… Roll down your calf to just above your ankle.
There are several muscles in the calf, and on many people, the tightest one runs somewhat outside of center. I can roll straight down the back of my calf without feeling a thing, but if I turn my leg outward slightly, the results are much different!
Experiment and see where your knots are. If necessary, cross one leg over the top of the other to apply more weight to the leg being rolled. If that’s too much, move to the edge of the roller and leave your opposite leg off.
Using a foam roller on your quads
To roll your quads, you should lie face down and roll from just below your hip down to your knee. As with your calves, this can be done on the edge of the foam roller to allow one leg at a time. Again, you should tilt your body slightly to one side or the other for different results.
Using a foam roller on your hamstrings
To roll your hamstrings, you should sit on the edge of the roller (for single leg action) and move from just below your sit bones down to your knee. As before, experiment to find the best angle and work those muscle knots out.
Using a foam roller on your adductors
To roll your adductors (along the inside of your thigh), lie on your side and place the foam roller parallel to your body. Bend the leg you are rolling so that your thigh is perpendicular to your body and the knee is at a 90° angle.
Put the roller in as close to your body as possible and move your body such that your trunk is moving away from the roller as it heads towards your knee. Adductors are tight on most people so, even though this is an awkward one to do, it’s important.
Using a foam roller on your piriformis
To roll your piriformis, sit on the foam roller on your sit bones with your feet flat on the floor. Cross your left ankle over your right knee. Roll forward, just off your sit bone while leaning slightly to the left. This muscle is fairly small, and you probably won’t need to move too far to find a spot that is noticeable. As before, play around with the angle and linger on any trouble spots that you find.
Using a foam roller on your lats
To roll your lats, lay on your left side with your hip and legs on the ground, your left arm extended straight up over your head, and the foam roller placed just beneath your arm pit. You can use your right hand in a fist on your left shoulder as a means to prop up your head if that’s more comfortable than straining your neck.
Slide your body upward so you’re rolling towards your waist. Once again, most people have tight lats, so you probably won’t have to move far to find a tender spot. Also, if you tilt slightly forward or backwards, you will achieve different results. Repeat on the right side.
Stretch to cap it off
For all of these exercises, once you’ve finished rolling, it’s a good idea to spend some time doing long, static stretches. Your muscles have been jumbled up for who knows how long, and you just straightened them out. Give it some reinforcement with a good, gentle stretch.
You should slowly reach into the stretch only until you feel it stretching (no need to be a hero) and hold it for 20 to 30 seconds. By that time, it shouldn’t feel so stretchy any more, and if you want to move deeper into the stretch, you can.
Frequency and duration of rolling
On days when I have the time time, I’ll spend half an hour with the foam roller before a workout. Some people also like to roll after their workouts to help with recovery.
When I was feeling excessive tightness in my right hamstring — the same one that previously went from “tight” to “pulled” and left me out of triathlon training for two months — I rolled that entire leg slowly and thoroughly at least once each day. Within a week, my pulled hamstring was a distant memory, and I was up and running again.
I typically roll the entire leg because everything is inter-connected, and an unhappy hamstring might be due to (or causing) tightness in other areas.
There you have it! Do yourself a favor… Go buy a roller and roll away!
Note: If you are diabetic, have osteoporosis, or have varicose veins or a blood clot in your legs, please check with your doctor before using a foam roller. There could be dangerous side effects to those conditions.
About the author: This is a guest post from Heather of Change is Possible. Heather also runs a fitness studio known as the Second Chance FitCenter. If you like what you see here, please consider subscribing to her RSS feed.
Get free updates via e-mail!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
You forgot about using it to play Luke Skywalker and pretend it’s a lightsaber. If it helps with the IT band though I’m in, that’s a hard area to stretch.