5 Reasons to get rolling, rolling, rolling...
In a perfect world everyone would be maintaining their optimum health through regular monthly massages, though finances do often prevent this from becoming the norm, massage is often viewed as a luxury or a splurge more than a necessity.
Foam rollers are the next best thing to massage, though still remain a mystery to many people and even trainers.
Foam roller exercises, also called myofascial release is a form of massage that fitness folks do either before exercise to loosen up sore muscles and tight joints, or after a workout, in an effort to help with muscle recovery.
Foam roller exercises and other self-myofascial release techniques have become hugely popular, and for good reason. Partly that comes from a better understanding about the healing benefits of soft tissue care, or massage.
5 GREAT REASONS TO GET ROLLING;
Myofascial release can help promote a feeling of relaxation after a workout, an important psychological benefit. When using a foam roller during the post-workout cool-down, you want to move at a consistent rate, super slowly, focus on areas of tension for up to 90 seconds to allow the tissue to soften and lengthen.
Reduce knots. Intense exercise can lead to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). When you feel sore, you’re essentially feeling pain from microtrauma (tiny tears) in the muscle fibres. Often, as your body repairs the muscles, small knots form. Foam rolling helps align the muscle fibres and reduce discomfort as the body repairs itself.
Gets lymphatic system moving to flush out toxins. Another way foam rolling helps alleviate soreness is by moving lactic acid and carbon dioxide — toxins built up during exercise — out of the muscles and tissues, and into the lymphatic system. Rolling on lymph nodes points; under armpits and upper inner thighs also helps!
Improve circulation. We touched on this above — foam rolling increases blood circulation, which in addition to warming your body up, helps muscles repair faster.
Help range of motion. Your range of motion often decreases during exercise and strength training. This is because as muscles grow, they constrict and shorten during recovery. Connective tissue also thickens and tightens in an effort to protect the muscles. Foam rollers do wonders to release tension, allowing muscles to lengthen and return to their original size. This, in turn, improves range of motion.
Ok so get yourself foam rolling and let me know how you feel!