By Jackeline Soto
So I’ve gotten asked about the benefits of foam rolling and when to do it. And even the basic questions like “what is foam rolling?” To be honest I’ve only foam rolled once after a very strenuous workout that almost resulted in injury and I believe with foam rolling it helped tremendously.
So what is foam rolling?
So foam rolling is a technique used by most athletes and its technical term is “Self-myofascial Release”. Now what you do is pretty much self-massage because you’ll be positioning the target area that needs to be massaged to release pressure. When you self-massage these target areas you’re helping your muscles recover a lot faster than they normally would after a strenuous workout.
Okay, so when you first foam roll it’s going to hurt. AND IT’S GOING TO HURT A LOT. It’s going to hurt because foam rolling is a deep tissue massage and it easily targets areas.
How often should I foam roll for?
Good news! You can actually foam roll every day if it helps you out and you feel the changes in your body. You determine how often you should foam roll but it is suggested to foam roll before and after your workout.
So what are the benefits?
- Prevents Injury
So once you find out your trigger points (tense muscles) you’ll be able to target it and massage it so it’ll reduce the risk of injury. When you foam roll after a workout you will feel instant release (your pressure point will be gone).
- Improves Mobility
When you foam roll you’re releasing the tension stored in your muscles, usually this tension builds steadily when you’re lifting or completing the same type of exercise every day. So when you foam roll you’ll release muscle tension and you’ll have better flexibility which ultimately increases you’re mobility.
Foam rolling is important for lots of other reasons, let me know if you’d like a whole sequence to better foam roll
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