Foam Rolling…It Serves A Purpose, So Do It!

I know, another blog on an unglamorous piece of the human optimization paradigm, however, this might just be the missing piece in your fitness puzzle. There are plenty of things that come in and out of the fitness industry. The electric AB Belt, the AB Rocket and basically any other piece of exercise equipment that starts with AB. I think there was an AB Swing that my sister bought too, but it mostly just had clothes laying over it. Some of these items stick, but the majority disappear faster than you can say “Shake Weight”.

The Foam Roller is not a FAD, use the damn thing!

Before I go any further I am not advocating getting on a foam roller for 20 minutes before a workout. You should only need 5 minutes MAX on a roller before a workout. After training if you want to fall asleep on the thing go nuts, do you boo, just don’t be in the way.

I know of some research studies out there that say power is decreased by using one before a workout, but what they don’t say is there are other studies out there that showed an increase in range of motion without a subsequent decrease in force or power output. Yup, that’s confusing, sorry.  But here’s the thing, I’ve watched it work on plenty of the athletes that I’ve trained.  Myself and the rest of the coaching staff here have all seen the benefits. At this juncture in my career I’m going to trust what I’ve seen it work firsthand for myself and others, not some research study from years ago. Therefore at GPS Human Performance: Home of CrossFit Reilly and Grounds & Pounds Weightlifting Club we 100% endorse the use of foam rollers pre-training.

Below you will find a demonstration video describing how to foam roll. This is what we recommend our athletes to hit pre-workout. I encourage this for all of our training programs, whether you are a CrossFitter, Weightlifter, Mother of 2 or Strength & Conditioning Performance Athlete, I’ve watched it benefit them all. Nothing fancy, just a step-by-step guide to using a foam roller so you don’t look like polar bear rolling around with a seal. Foam rolling would follow your general warm-up of running, rowing, etc., but before you get into the dynamic warm-up and/or barbell warm-ups.

People love numbers and prescriptions so lets say 10-20 rolls over each body part. Keep total time at 5 minutes or under. Now if you have a problem area that feels like it’s on fire when you roll over it, I’d advise focusing a little more time there. When your body is in homeostasis you should be able to foam roll and compress your muscle between the roller and your bones without any discomfort. If you know you have a spot that is nasty it’s ok to use a lacrosse ball or PVC pipe. Sometime certain spots need a little more added noxious stimulus.

Perks of Foam Rolling:

1. It’s SUPER Cheap (BUY ONE)

2. It WORKs (Google it)

3. All the COOL KIDs are doing it (Watch Above Video)

4. It IMPROVES Performance (Another Video to Watch)

All in all this should become a relatively effortless process. Once it becomes a habit you don’t even have to think about. Jog to the gym and head right for the foam roller. Done and done. Save some money, increase mobility, be in the cool crowd and hit some new PR’s.

Geoff

PS: “Foam Rolling will not guarantee you being a cool kid, however growing a kick-ass beard will…it’s Science.”