Recently, all my time has been spent sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic and foam rolling.
Or I should say, sitting with the foam roller in my lap…
…while watching The Bachelorette.
Ughhh Ryan! Blehhhh.
Team Arie! I heart him.
Back to the foam roller.
I’ve foam rolled every single day since the NASM workshop. That’s 2.5 weeks and counting! My legs feel fabulous as a result. It has made a HUMONGOUSNORMOUS difference in my performance and recovery. I can’t believe I haven’t been foam rolling all this time. I’ve been cheating my legs!
Stretching just doesn’t provide the compression like that of foam rolling.
NASM advises rolling before and after working out, but I’ve been doing it at night in front of the TV. Mostly because I don’t have time during the day, but also because I put it off (it hurts!). It’s getting less and less painful every day, which is exactly what the workshop instructor promised.
It takes me about an hour to foam roll each night. I know, that’s a long time. It doesn’t have to take a long time, though. 5-10 min. is enough to help. I just want/need to get all the knots out of my legs. Oh and I always take a break to eat a snack…and then finding the courage to continue takes awhile.
I thought my foam roller wasn’t as effective because it softened (yeah yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Go ahead and say it…), which may still be true, but it’s more because I wasn’t rolling properly.
Notes I took at the workshop…
The picture is of a muscle spindle. The arrows are pointing to knots, which build up over time and pull your joints out of alignment. Foam rolling helps break up those knots.
The proper way to foam roll from NASM The Essentials of Personal Fitness Training…
- Gentle pressure (similar to a massage) breaks up knots within the muscle and helps to release unwanted muscular tension.
- Find a tender spot (which indicates presence of muscle hypertonicity) and sustain pressure on that spot for a minimum of 30 seconds (<—-IMPORTANT!!) It may take longer depending on the client’s ability to consciously relax (<—-IMPORTANT!!).
- This process will help restore the body back to its optimal level of function by resetting the proprioceptive mechanisms of the soft tissue.
- Self-myofascial release is suggested before stretching because breaking up fascial adhesions (knots) may potentially improve the tissue’s ability to lengthen through stretching techniques. In addition, it can be used during the cool-down process.
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Some images from the book to help.
I do all of these as well as my quads.
My two cents…
Know Your Body
I’ve found that foam rolling has helped me figure out where my tight spots are located. My legs are pretty much all tied up in knots, but the super tight spots are different on each leg. In general my left leg is tighter than my right, which may explain why my left leg (hip, knee and shin) experiences pain before my right leg.
Don’t See-Saw
I used to do the see-saw action instead of rolling slowly. The instructor advised moving 1″ per second (slow!!) until you find a knot and then holding there for 30 seconds.
Hold for 30 Seconds!
It’s super important to HOLD for 30 seconds when you find a knot. I can only last about 10-20 seconds before I start sweating bullets and spewing out curse words, but the more I roll, the easier it gets.
Relax and Breathe
It’s also important to relax the area. If you tense up the muscle you are rolling, it doenst hurt as much, which seems ideal, but then it’s not working. Don’t forget to breathe!!
After foam rolling, I can feel my muscles tingling. Like in a good I-just-got-a-deep-tissue-massage way. Foam rolling has gotten less painful since I started 2+ weeks ago and like I said, I’ve noticed a huge difference in my performance and recovery.
Since I hadn’t been foam rolling at all, it was extra painful in the beginning. I will probably spend less time foam rolling once I work through the knots in my legs some more.
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So there you have it. How to foam roll properly. I hope this has convinced those of you who don’t foam roll to do so!
Tell me: Do you foam roll? How often? Where are your biggest knots?
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
I used to foam roll every night for about a half hour. In the past month, I’ve fallen off the wagon, but I definitely know I need to get back at it soon! I’ve been doing the Runner’s World Summer Run Streak, and even though I’m only running about a mile and a half every day, my legs are so tight! Your post was a great reminder that I need to get at it soon!
Oh I need to get a foam roller so bad! I don’t know why I haven’t just gone out and bought one already..
Ahh! I haven’t watched last night’s episode yet- but am 100% with you. Team Arie all the way! From the very first episode though- I predicted she’d pick Ryan- JUST based on first impressions within the first 30 minutes. He seems like a cocky jerk, and that’s usually who the bachelorette picks!
I have THE GRID foam roller, which is awesome- but I definitely do not use it as much as I should. And I definitely have never spent an hour foam rolling- maybe 15 minutes tops!! Thanks for your tips- I need to put them into action!!
I haven’t foam rolled before but I know I should probably start. I fear I’m probably not actually coordinated enough for foam rolling. How lame is that? haha!
I’ve never foam rolled before… knowing the state of my back/shoulders, it would be paaaainful. It sounds like it’d be worth doing though! I’ll look into it after I’ve moved
Thanks for the tips!
Super helpful post. I thought I was foam rolling correctly, but your pointers make me think I’m not quite relaxing enough or holding long enough. Thanks!
AHHH I love foam rolling too! I have a terrible back injury that causes all my muscles connected to my back (almost everything) to tighten up. I have previously foam rolled only before my workouts in my team’s strength training gym, but now I’m trying to do it every day! It’s painful but it definitely helps!!!
Great advice! I need to keep up my routine of foam rolling nightly, and I should probably hold longer on tight spots.
I have a foam roller, but honestly had 0 idea what to do with the dang thing, so thank you!!!!!
I’m so sporadic with my foam rolling – sometimes I’ll do it 3x in one week, and sometimes I’ll go 3 weeks between doing it!
Hearing how much it has helped you makes me want to get into a better foam rolling routine though. Thanks for the tip about not see-sawing – I didn’t know it was better to go slower!
I recently got orthotics and my entire body has shifted in the way I run, meaning new pains everywhere! I’ve been foam rolling almost daily and it’s truly done wonders!
I need to look into some more foam rolling tutorials–I know it helps so much, but I really don’t know the best exercises for me. My routinely tight spots are my piriformis and IT band.
This is great info! I don’t foam roll, but I need to. I walk around with sore muscles all the time because I don’t stretch properly (yes, I know this), so I really need to motivate myself to do something about it!
Hmm I’ve heard of foam rolling for a while now, but havent gotten to actually trying it out. I’m thinking once i start running more regularly and at longer distances that i should start…
only heard good things about it (except for the initial pain….) so it wouldn’t hurt to try!
Great post! I recently started foam rolling and LOVE it, but I didn’t know about the 30 second hold guideline until now. Thanks for the info!
Outer thighs are KILLER for me!! Holy pain, every single time. I actually take a foam rolling class every Friday, or at least try to. So I’ve got the form down pretty well now. I love it after, but definitely not during the foam rolling experience.
Great tips on foam rolling!
I don’t foam roll or at least i haven’t in a while. I need to start doing it regularly too. I KNOW I need it. Thanks for the informative post!!
Thanks for a great post! You have inspired me to take up a 2 week foam rolling challenge. Obviously I will be foam rolling every day for 2 weeks. I rolled out my legs this morning before work and already noticed a difference!
I am so thankful that my boyfriend got me a foam roller this past Valentine’s Day! I use it on my legs, and also to soothe the muscles in my back that get achy kinda often.
Do you know whether this would work for back pain that isn’t related to working out or running?
I love my foam roller!
Oy, I should really start foam rolling. That’ll be my next investment—I actually just bought Zensah compression sleeves for myself after seeing you rave about them! They arrived today, so I’ll see how I feel on my run with them tomorrow!
I so so so so so so so need to do this! Why do we avoid this stuff? I hate stretching, too. I just want my legs to work all the time without me pampering them. Wrong, I tell you!!
So how do I get started? I think I need a pre-foam-rolling class….
I do use compression sleeves on my calves during and after my runs. Does that get a teeny bit of credit? Yeah, I know…get the foam roller!!
Happy Weekend!
Super helpful post!! Foam rolling would def. be a great help for my sore muscles from dance! I’m gonna run to Marshall’s to get one now. I’ve been eyeing them at the fitness section for a while, but wasn’t so sure how effective it would be. Stretching isn’t cutting it for me anymore, so thx for the info!
I never did it. Never felt the need for it really. I should try it soon.
This was a great post! I need to get back into foam rolling. I used to do it all the time, but I have slackened off.
I use this technique with a tennis ball for the bottom of my foot.
It feel is so good!