The foam roller is one of those exercise accessories that is not nearly as popular as it should be. It’s cheap, lightweight, easy to carry around, and effective. You can use it to build both core and strength muscles, enable flexibility, improve athletic performance, increase body mobility, and relieve stiffness and muscle aches. All you need is the foam roller and a mat, and sometimes, not even the mat.
SIZES & TYPES
Simply defined, a foam roller is a long cylinder of extruded hard-celled foam, usually 6″ in diameter. Half-round foam rollers (that is, a foam cylinder with one flat side down its length) are perfect for the beginner to these types of exercises. As you get more used to the movement of the roller, you can graduate to a full-round foam roller. Both the half-round and the full-round foam roller come in your choice of either a one foot or three feet length.
FOAM DENSITY
Foam density is another option for you to choose. A low-density foam may be good for a beginner, but a high-density foam roller with a hard core might be required for a heavily muscled athlete who needs the intense pressure of such foam. You can buy foam rollers in gradations of density.
- Bio-foam, usually white, is the lowest density foam and very soft, and so, isn’t durable and does not last very long with normal use. But, this density may be perfect for a beginner who can’t stand the pressure of standard EVA Foam, the next level up for foam density.
- Foam roller made from ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA, also known as foam rubber or expanded rubber) is more dense than bio-foam, thereby providing a greater pressure on the body. Most foam rollers found in commercial gyms are made from EVA.
- Foam rollers are also made from compressing beads of EVA foam into an even tighter density than normal EVA.
- Foam rollers at the highest level of density are almost solid, with hard inner cores and a thin outer layer of foam, sometimes with as little as 1″ of foam. This type of foam roller is also often smaller in diameter.
As you get better at using a foam roller, you’ll find you will likely need to progress to higher densities of foam to get the effective pressure you need.
CARE OF FOAM ROLLERS
Because of the way in which a foam roller is manufactured, the surface may have some slight imperfections, such as color differences, bubbles, and small holes — these imperfections are normal and do not interfere with the use of the foam roller. Normal use of a foam roller may cause temporary indentations — these areas will recover their normal shape within a few hours.
Get a cover or carry bag for your foam roller. To clean one, use a mild mixture of soap and water, or rubbing alcohol — do not use bleach or any other harsh cleaning chemicals.
Do not store any other objects on top of the foam roller. Keep the foam roller out of steady direct sunlight, and avoid prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures.
HOW IT WORKS
Now, how does a foam roller work?
Performing an exercise with a foam roller stretches tendons and muscles, and breaks down scar tissue and soft tissue adhesions. A foam roller uses your own body weight to let you perform a self-massage (also known as a “myofascial release”), increasing the circulation of blood to your soft tissues. Before we go any further describing the exercises, we’ll have to get a bit technical with what a foam roller actually does to your body.
The “superficial fascia” is the name for the soft connective tissue that is located just underneath your skin. The fascia wraps around the bones, nerves, muscles, and blood vessels of your body. Muscles and fascia together are called the myofascia system. Sometimes, due to an injury or a lack of muscle use, an adhesion may develop between a muscle and the overlying fascia — the two layers end up stuck together. The restricted muscle motion caused by such an adhesion will cause soreness, reduced flexibility, and, quite often, pain.
A myofascial release is a massage technique in which sustained gentle pressure is applied to soft tissues, while, at the same time, traction is applied to the fascia above the muscle. The fascia is softened and lengthened, and adhesions or scar tissue between the muscles and the skin are broken down. Myofascial release also relieves some types of joint and muscle pain not caused by adhesions.
Foam rollers let you target any muscle group in your body, and perform your own myofascial release on the muscles and the overlying fascia.
PRE-EXERCISE CHECK
Before you start any of these exercises, read through these tips on the use of a foam roller:
- Wait to perform a foam roller session until after your muscles are warmed up and loose from a workout.
- Place the roller under your body against the soft tissue area on which you want work.
- Roll your body weight gently back and forth across the roller against the muscle.
- Work slowly, and move out from your body center towards your extremities.
- If an area feels very painful against the roller, stop moving until you feel the area begin to soften.
- Work mostly on those areas that feel tight.
- Expect some discomfort as the roller moves against the target area.
- Avoid using the roller directly against joints or bones until you are more experienced.
- Keep the first few sessions short, less than fifteen minutes each.
- Do your initial set of sessions every other day, not every day.
- Drink enough water after a session.
- If you have a chronic pain condition or a heart problem, consult your doctor for approval to use a foam roller.
EXERCISE SESSIONS
In general, when using a foam roller, perform your exercise sessions in an area with some space all around you. Put your body weight on top of the roller, with the targeted muscles pressing against the roller. Control the pressure by using your hands and feet to lift yourself off the roller or to let yourself down onto the roller. If one position seems impossible, try another. Try positioning the roller in various directions with respect to your body — try perpendicular, parallel, and or 45 degree positions to see what results you get.
Now, let’s describe some of those foam roller exercises aimed at those stiff and aching muscle groups of your body for which you want relief.
GLUTES (better known as your buttocks or posterior)
- Place the foam roller so that it would cross your posterior.
- Sit upright on the roller with the soft part of your buttocks on top of the roller.
- Move slowly forward and back, and from side to side.
- Notice which areas feel tight, and concentrate on moving those areas over the roller.
HAMSTRINGS (back of thighs)
- Position your body in the same way as for the GLUTES, but stretch out your legs.
- Put your hands behind you for balance.
- Roll your body back so that the top backside of your leg is against the roller.
- Move slowly forward and back, and from side to side.
- Change position to press the roller all over the entire muscle.
- Move the roller to your buttock, and roll slowly down from the buttock to the knee.
- Pause on any tight spots, holding the pressure.
- Try the above steps one leg at a time.
- Try the above steps with your feet turned out, and then with your feet turned in.
- Try the above steps with one leg straight and one leg bent.
HIPS
- Place the roller under your left side, with your left buttock cheek on the roller.
- Lift your left leg up and back, crossing it over your right knee.
- Place your hands behind your body for balance.
- Lean slightly to the left until you feel a tightness in your right hip.
- Hold for at least for thirty seconds — work your way up to two minutes over a few weeks.
- Repeat these actions with your right side against the roller.
QUADRICEPS (front of thigh)
- Lay face down with your thighs over the roller.
- Use your hands for balance while rolling the thigh from knee to hip, and back.
- Try with both legs on the roller, and then one leg, and then just the other one.
- To reduce pressure, support some of your body weight with one leg while working the other.
IT BAND
The Ilio-Tibial band is a thick band of tissue running along the outside of your leg — it starts at your hip and goes along your outer thigh, attaching to the outside edge of your tibia (shin bone) below the knee. This strong band of muscle and fiber works with the thigh muscles to stabilize your knee joint.
- Lie on the roller on your left side, with the roller just below your hip.
- Using your hands for balance, roll the side of your leg from hip to knee, and back several times, pausing for any tight spots.
- Repeat while lying on your right side.
CALVES
- Place the roller crossways under the midpoint of both of your calves.
- Using your hands for balance and support, roll slowly up to the knee and down to the ankle, pausing on any tight spots.
- Try with your feet turned in, and then with your feet turned out.
- Try with your toes pointed up, and then with your toes flexed.
- Place one leg on top of the other to increase pressure.
TRAPEZIUS & RHOMBOIADS (upper back)
- Place the roller crossways under your shoulder blades.
- Put your hands behind your head, keeping your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
- Using your feet, roll toward your head, pausing at sore spots.
- Roll down your back to the middle and back up your back.
LATISSIMUS DORSI & TERES MAJOR (shoulders)
- Lay on your side with the roller crossways under your armpit, and your arms outstretched over your head.
- Roll toward the armpit, pausing at sore spots, and then roll back.
It sounds simple, but it will take you some time to find the muscle groups in this area that need work.
