I've recently started journaling, and I'm thinking of doing a blog post just about that because it is awesome for a multitude of reasons that yes, are actually related to being healthy. Anyway, one of the things I'm trying to do in my daily journal entries is to come up with a handful of ideas each day that I want to write about on this blog. Most of the ideas are rough at best and dumb at worst, but it did surprise me how many topics I was able to come up with in just a few minutes. Today's topic was borne out of one of these quick idea sessions, but also it's just something that I do almost every day, so I just had to write about it: Foam rolling.
The first time I used a foam roller, I was standing around in a decidedly unconventional gym full of strange and wonderful equipment, most of which I had only seen on TV and had no idea how to use. Things like wall balls, slam balls, maces and sledgehammers, and a plethora of foam rollers of different shapes and sizes. I was immediately attracted to them.
Here's something about me that's probably not surprising - I love random gym equipment. If you ever needed some sort of gift idea for me, just get some strange implement you're supposed to use to work out with and I guarantee I'll love it, even if I've never seen it before.
Most of those weird implements are just fun to use and aren't really needed in a basic gym, but the foam roller...that has become crucial to me. Foam rolling - officially called self-mysofascial release - has become all the rage in recent years. I saw it as the shiny new thing, something to supplement the recovery after workouts. If it worked even a little bit, well, great. If not - well, it seemed like a nice way to massage your butt after a hard leg day.
Now I'd argue that it's essential to my workout regimen. I use it every time I work out, before and afterwards, and often on rest days too. It's taken me a while to get here, I admit. I spent a few years not even knowing how to use the thing. For example, did you know you're not supposed to roll on it? I know, right - weird. But let's not get into that yet. First, let's talk about what it's supposed to do.
Here's a bit of a wacky video that my CPT class showed us to illustrate what "fascia" is and what happens when it gets tight and stiff. (*Note: This video uses cadavers, so if you're squeamish you can skip it.)
I used to think that the foam roller was just a glorified massager - so I'd use it all over my body, haphazardly rolling over everything and thinking I was being effective. I was not. I learned that it's most effective on overactive muscles, and if you're using it correctly, it can hurt. But it's a good kind of pain, the kind that is temporary and leads to better mobility, posture, and if used as part of your warm-up, a better workout.
Mobility has become increasingly important to me as I've gotten older. Maybe I can't run as fast or jump as high as I could in my 20's, but I am convinced there are still plenty of ways my body can continue to improve and move better by taking mobility seriously. (I never ran very fast anyway, no big loss.) For an interesting take on this, check out Kelly Starrett's Mobility WOD YouTube videos, or his book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, which former Navy SEALs have recommended to me.
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Foam rolling, I am convinced, is an integral part of that mobility protocol. If you have muscle imbalances (I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you ALL have an imbalance somewhere), the foam roll can go a long way in helping you relax those tight muscles. The foam roller is for release - for example, if you have tight quads like me, you want to roll those out and not your hamstrings in order to restore proper muscle activation.
To illustrate the benefits, let me describe what happens to me. My quads are tight and overactive, as I mentioned. When a muscle is overactive, it's in a shortened state. Tight quads means they are pulling on my hips, putting pressure on my low back, and causing decreased mobility in my knees (to name just a few things). This has whole-body implications, and that's just one muscle group! I take five minutes before a workout to foam roll my quads and other tight muscles, and it pays huge dividends. Just the other day after a high-intensity treadmill workout, I was feeling some pain in my knee. I foam-rolled my quad on that side and poof...pain gone.
But you have to do it correctly. The National Academy of Sports Medicine, where I got my certification, will tell you to roll until you find a tender spot (the pain being on a scale of 6-9 out of 10, which is a lot, IMHO), and just sit on it for 30 seconds. I follow this protocol for my upper legs, but not necessarily for say, my thoracic spine, where I need to knead a bit to get at the knots. One of my instructors, who has expertise in corrective exercise, also mentioned she didn't exactly adhere to the NASM protocol. Here's one thing I can tell you - if you're doing it correctly, your face should look like mine does here.
Okay, I know it looks like I'm just suffering mild concern, but the pain is real. And glorious, because I know that it's temporary and the benefits are immediate.
So try it out, everyone. If you aren't sure what to do, get a trainer (or if you live nearby, me!) to show you. I can't recommend it enough.
Articles to consider:
Foam Rolling: Total Body Benefits