Hi everyone. I am going to talk to you about foam rolling. What it is, why use it and some great videos to get you started.
First of all what is a foam roller? The picture below shows my home selection but will also give you an idea of what you may find in your local gym.
Foam rolling has been around for years and every now and again a new roller comes out which helps do the job slightly differently but I always go back to my old faithful friend, the original white roller: pictured here.
The roller is designed to self massage area’s and release soft tissue which will increase circulation to the area, so great for both pre and post exercise and also for preventing injuries. This is not a substitute for sports massage. It is there to aid the process and make your treatments better and more efficient.
As you can see from this picture there are quite a few different types of rollers available. If you are new to rolling, I would suggest that you use the one shown in the video clips. You can then progress to a harder and difficult roller once you are used to the process.
To purchase the right size etc, go to the following links page on my website:
http://fitnesstherapy4you.co.uk/links/
Rules of rolling:
There are some simple rules to rolling that will help you get the most out of it and also be safe too:
- Apart from the back, always roll towards the heart. Never roll the opposite way, as this interferes with blood flow and you will end up getting lovely little spider veins on your legs!
- Try to breath with the foam roller, nice deep relaxing breaths which will help both yourself and the muscle relax
- To begin with aim for 30 to 60 secs rolling per section. It will be natural for you to go faster than this and it’s simply because you have never done it before. As you get used to the roller, you will find that your seconds turn into mins. But one thing at a time!
- Remember this is a beginners version of how to roll. There are others skills to be taught or how to remove knots etc and we will touch on this next month.
So I hope you enjoy the video’s. I will be releasing them gradually as there are quite a few. Today I will post how to foam roll your Quadricep (front of thigh) and also the back.
Just click on the below links to watch the videos:
Happy rolling!
Sara
