Foam Rolling 101 and Why You Should Start Now

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Ever wanted to give yourself a massage? Well, you’re in luck because there’s this little thing called foam rolling. Typically, it’s a cylindrical tube surrounded in foam that can be used to release tension all over your body. Although it’s associated with athletes, you can still reap the benefits from this form of recovery even if you’re not one.

Why You Should Foam Roll

Foam rolling is more scientifically known as self-myofascial release, or SMR. It targets the film-like layer that surrounds your muscles by smoothing and stretching it, leading to less friction through daily activities. Here are the basic benefits of this technique:

• reduces soreness
• increases flexibility
• eliminates muscle knots
• lessens joint paint
• & self care!

Foam Rolling Basics

Alright folks, here we go. Foam rolling is fairly simple, but there are a few tips you should listen to first.

#1 Try different movements on the foam roller. Take your calf for example: you can roll back-and-forth, but once you hit a knot, either pause on it, or roll side-to-side to break up the fascia.

#2 You can basically self-massage everywhere else except for your stomach and face, though I hope most of you would know not to do that?

#3 PLEASE do not use a regular foam roller on your lower back – I may or may not have broken my back haha. I’ll take the Lamest Injury Award please for hurting myself BEFORE practice.

#4 Use before working out to help get your muscles loose, or try foam rolling afterwards as an active cool down.

Types of Foam Rollers

There are a large variety of rollers you can use, and many have uses for different body parts. My favorite is the TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller, the orange one too. You can get a mixed bag of different shapes and sizes or even an extra long one. In fact, you can browse a range of densities, from soft to extra firm. Moreover, certain rollers have the option between smooth and textured, if you desire to pinpoint a pain. Another alternative is a rolling pin-like massager called a massage stick roller, which is very convenient for travel. If you’re really invested in your health, you can even find a massage gun to do the work for you, like this Hypervolt.

Fair warning: if you have cats, make sure this gets tucked away after use, because mine has WAY too many punctures in it. It works perfectly fine but just a lil beat up, and that could have been avoided.

Do you use a foam roller? Leave a comment down below and let me know!