Foam rolling is a great way to take care of your body! These lower body foam rolling moves will help everything from your calves to your lower back(by loosening up those hamstrings!) and have them feeling great!
If you are new to foam rolling, don’t worry if it hurts! Your muscles may be tense, tight and in desperate need of a foam roll but it can be a slightly painful experience at first. As you do it consistently and your muscles start reaping the benefits of being rolled out the pain will ease up! You’ll often find certain muscles hurt a lot more than other and those are where you need it most! Make sure to adjust the amount of pressure that you’re using if the area is extremely sensitive. You can increase the pressure used as the muscle adapts!
Here’s how it works:
It uses a technique called myofascial release(kind of like a massage without going to get one). You roll it over your muscles using your body weight to add pressure and intensify the massage. There are rollers made completely of foam, pvc covered with foam and just pvc pipe. Completely foam is great for just starting while pvc is a very very intense roll. I’m a fan of the foam wrapped pvc at the moment!
If you aren’t sure whether foam rolling is for you, here’s some of the benefits and a few tips!
A Few Tips
-Roll slowly
-Control the amount of pressure you feel by taking some of your weight into your hands and leg that isn’t being rolled.
-Don’t push yourself to the point of extreme pain, lighten up when necessary and gradually add pressure each session.
-If an area is too painful to roll, roll the areas around it first and see if that loosens it up.
Some of the Benefits
-Helps to reduce soreness and tightness
-Increases blood flow to the area helping to keep the muscles healthy
-Help flexibility and range of motion
-Speed up recovery from a tough workout
