Foam Roller Exercises

Foam roller exercises will do to your muscles what rolling pins do to dough, soften tight areas and break up knots. Even if you’re using the best footwear and performing stretching exercises before each workout session, your muscles may still cause discomfort due to high-impact training. Knotty muscle tissue requires a pressure massage which will help increase the blood flow, loosens muscle tightness and helps restore muscle function. Thirty minutes exercises on a foam roller can be as beneficial as having a sports massage without the added strain on your cheque book.

What are Foam Roller Exercises used for?

Foam rollers are actually the most versatile piece of workout equipment that you can use. Foam roller exercises will provide your body will all the need to roll out the stiffness in your muscles and alleviate the pain caused by strenuous exercises. From massaging tired muscles to stretching areas that are difficult to reach, you can use a foam roller in a number of ways. You can even use it to relieve pain and tension, break down muscle scar tissue, and help reduce the chances of aggravating a muscle injury.

Foam rollers are also great for lengthening and stretching the muscles in your body. They offer similar relaxation benefits that you’d receive from a sports massage. By increasing the flow of blood to your muscles, it helps them to recover faster ensuring you’ll stay to what ever training schedule you undertake. While most people use rollers during their warm up, others use them after a strenuous workout to stretch and relax their muscles. All of these things make foam roller exercises ideal for anyone who engages in strenuous workouts and high-intensity training.

Easy foam roller exercises to try:

Different exercises on a foam roller can work on different areas of your body.

• If you want something that can tone the back of the legs, you can try sitting on the foam roller and keeping both of your arms stretched behind you. Place your palms flat on the floor and place the roller under your calves, hamstrings, or glutes. Roll it against a certain portion of the body rather than the entire back of the leg. After a few minutes, you can already move to the next body part.

• Other foam roller exercises that you can try are also great for the back. Place the roller under your upper back and slowly lower your body to the ground. Place both feet flat on floor and gently bend your knees. Place your hands behind your head and raise your hips into a bridge. Roll the foam over the upper part of your back in order to remove the knots and reduce the stiffness in this area. To target your laterals, roll it slightly to the side of your outstretching arm.

• Arm elevation is also great for stretching out the muscles in your arms. Lay on your back and position the roller in a way that it can keep your spine neutral. For these foam roller exercises, you should keep both of your hands parallel to your side and hold your abdomen while breathing normally. Make sure that you are keeping your pelvis and spine still while raising your arms up in the air. Return both of your arms to starting position and perform as many repetitions as needed.

• You can also tone your abdomen by using a foam roller instead of doing crunches on the floor. Sit on one end of the roller and place both of your feet on the floor. Keep your arms extended as you roll down slowly and feel each vertebrae touching the roller. Roll yourself back up and perform three sets of ten. With these simple foam roller exercises, you can target various areas of the body and stretch out all your tendons and muscles.