Last year I bought a foam roller after reading about how wonderful it is for runners. As far as I can remember, the foam roller didn’t come with any sort of instructions. I figured you just propped yourself on top of the roller and well… rolled. What I didn’t expect was the foam roller to be painful. After a few tries I gave up and propped it up in the corner of my room.
It’s been five months since I bought my foam roller and I finally decided to dust it off and give it another go. I had stumbled across a foam rolling guide by fitness consultant, Ashley Borden. I also found her YouTube video on foam rolling as well. I was happy to find that foam rolling didn’t have to be painful at all. Both the video and the guide on her website were helpful in learning to use the foam roller correctly. I learned how to adjust the pressure when rolling and that it was a bad idea to roll over joints. One really helpful tip I picked up from the video was to roll on top of a yoga mat rather than just on the floor. This gives some extra cushioning when you’re propping yourself up with your arms or legs. I also liked that her video doesn’t tell you that you have to do a certain amount of repetitions. She encourages you to do as many as you feel is right for your body. This is something I feel is really important with any type of stretching or yoga. It’s not about competition but about listening to your body and not overextending into pain.
Today I used my foam roller before doing yoga and I found that my muscles were not as tight as they usually are during the warm up. I’m really happy about using my foam roller now and will continue to use it before any exercise. Do you use a foam roller in your work out regime?
