Foam rollers for recovery/self massage - Page 2

**davtown** · 03-26-2007, 09:27 PM

LOL,
I'm gonna start introducing my family and friends to it now that I have a roller at home... we'll see if any of them do it more than once

**Ikaika** · 03-26-2007, 09:28 PM

to be fair, after doing my legs for the first time I was kinda questioning my sanity as well...it REALLY hurt at first. Just gonna have to power through I guess.

**asianbabe** · 04-07-2007, 09:01 AM

I have one of these at home. These are seriously the type that, the more you do, the less it hurts... and gaddamn it hurts!!!!!! But who here doesn't love pain?

The worst offenders to look out for would be the first exercise in that video, man he can talk and do it at the same time like it's nothing.... haha is that even possible?!

**bigDman** · 04-07-2007, 01:46 PM

I wrote an article about the foam roller, but can't post in the article section in till it supports pictures

**romanaz** · 04-07-2007, 06:56 PM

word, I love my foam roller.

I get so many stares at school because my outside thigh HURTS SO MUCH

Simpy · 04-08-2007, 10:38 PM

I've been wanting to buy one, but I'm a cheap girl. I use a tennis ball.

**romanaz** · 04-08-2007, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simpy

I'm a cheap girl.

**Ikaika** · 04-09-2007, 02:05 PM

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to romanaz again.

**romanaz** · 04-09-2007, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ikaika

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to romanaz again.

haha, I love your user titler

Simpy · 04-09-2007, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by romanaz

I set myself up for that

**bigDman** · 04-10-2007, 12:15 AM

Self-Myofascial Release
By: Paul Milano

Have you ever had dreams where you are able to walk around pain free? Ever dream of being able to deadlift more weight or get down on those ATG squats with no pain? If so then Self-Myofascial Release (SMR) is for you.
There are many methods of SMR, but the cheapest and simplest can be done with a tennis ball and a foam roller. SMR is possible because of something called autogenic inhibition. The Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO) is a mechanoreceptor found at the muscle-tendon junction. When tension in the muscle is increased to the point of injury the GTO stimulates muscle spindles to relax the muscle. This relaxation is autogenic inhibition. The GTO isn’t only good for injury prevention, but it also makes proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching effective. The stimulation of the GTO allows an increase in range of motion. With the use of the foam roller you can activate the GTO. This will give you the benefits of stretching and then some.
It is well known that a strong muscle that cannot go through a full range of motion is useless. Stretching will increase the length of the muscle, but SMR will increase the quality and tone of the muscle. SMR lengthens the muscle and breaks down soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue.
The results you get from the foam roller are similar to those of Active Release Techniques (ART), but because of the extreme price and inconvenience of ART daily treatments are out of the question. This is where the foam roller comes in. SMR on the foam roller is easy, effective, convenient, and inexpensive. Foam rolling will also help correct all those postural problems.
If all of this scientific gobbledygook has you confused here is a simple analogy that will hopefully help you understand. Let’s say that we have a rubber band with a knot in it. This rubber band will represent a muscle with some scar tissue in it. When stretching like many fitness professionals advocate you will just tighten the knot. As you pull and stretch the rubber band the knot will just get tighter and tighter and eventually break. Foam rolling is like untying the knot. It will increase the range of motion and also increase the quality of the tissue.
Foam rolling is relatively simple and easy to pick up. It doesn’t require much time or effort. Roll across the muscles slowly and stop when you hit a tender spot. Rest on this tender spot in till the pain is gone or close to gone.
As you get more comfortable on the foam roller and your muscles become more adept you will want to put more pressure on the foam roller. The easiest way to add resistance is to stack your legs on top of each other.
It is most beneficial to work from the proximal (nearest the center of the body) to the distal (furthest from the center of the body) attachment of the muscle. Also, for bigger muscles you can break the muscle into sections and work smaller parts. For instance, instead of working your whole hamstring from top to bottom you can shorten your stroke. First do the top half and then after that is loose go on to the bottom half.
People with circulatory problems and chronic pain diseases should not use foam rollers. Also, never roll the lower back. The lower back is not meaty enough to roll around on. This will cause unneeded pressure on the lumbar spine and kidneys
There are many places to get foam rollers cheap. I found Perform Better - The Experts in Functional Training and Rehabilitation to be a very reliable place to obtain foam rollers. They have a pretty large selection at a decent price. You will want to get the 6” foam roller (either the 1’ long or 3’ long version)
Here are some of the areas you can roll, and pictures on how to do them
Hip Flexors: Roll from the upper thigh into the hip. You can do this with your femur both internally and externally rotated. Guys might want to watch out for their boys on this one

Quadriceps:

Tensor Fascia Latae and Iliotibial Band: This may be one of the more painful ones. Roll from where you leg meets your hip in till the knee. Stack the legs for increase loading.

Adductors: Roll your whole inner thigh. Again guys, watch out for your boys!

Calves: Try this with the toes up (dorsiflexion) and down (plantarflexion). You can stack your legs to increase the load.

Hamstrings: Roll from the bottom of your glutes to the top of your knee. Try rolling with your toes pointed in all different direction to work all parts of the muscle. To increase load do one leg at a time and stack the other on top of the leg you are rolling

Gluteus Medius and Piriformis: Roll the lateral portion of your glutes from top to bottom

Tibialis Anterior:

Gluteus Maximus:

Peroneals:

Triceps: Start with the roller at the top of your triceps and roll to your elbow. To add resistance place your head on your arm

Latissimus Dorsi and Tres Major: Start where the lat attaches to the scapula and roll towards the armpit.

Thoracic Extensors, Middle and Lower Trapezius, Rhomboids: This one is excellent for those of you with kyphosis. You start at the middle of the back and roll to the level of your armpits. Keep your butt on the ground.

Pectoralis Major and Anterior Deltoid:

As with everything in the lifting world you will need to progress. This happens a couple of ways with SMR. You can add more resistance, you can roll on something harder or you can focus on a smaller area. There are foam rollers with PVC pipe in them that can be good for progression.
You can also work on a smaller area. To do this you can use a tennis ball or lacrosse ball.
Here are some ideas for using your tennis ball

Peroneals: Roll on the side of your lower leg. You will have to tilt your body a bit to do this

Soleus/gastrocs: Same as the peroneals, but this time focus on the meat of the calf

Hip Rotators: Find the bony prominence of the greater tronchanter (hip) and start there. Roll around in the general area.

You can make this a bit harder by crossing your leg on to the opposite knee. This will stretch the hip rotators. Expect quite a bit more pain on this one.

Tensor Fasciae Latae: To find the TFL you can place your fingers on the bony knob on the lateral aspect of your hip (your penis lines if you will). Shift your weight from one leg to the other. The muscle flexing is your TLF. Roll this muscle.

There are quite a few ideas out there already, but that does not mean you are constricted to these only. Be innovative and come up with some new ideas that work for you.
Hopefully I have opened some eyes and some people will attempt a little foam rolling in the near future. If you don’t you are missing out. You can take your training to the next level for a small price. SMR will greatly help your tissue quality and recovery time. So what are you waiting for go out and roll!

03-26-2007, 09:27 PM	#31
davtown OM NOM NOM NOM Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,360 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 128	LOL, I'm gonna start introducing my family and friends to it now that I have a roller at home... we'll see if any of them do it more than once __________________ --Training Journal-- current/goal D: 350/380 S: 280/300 B: 235/260

03-26-2007, 09:28 PM	#32
Ikaika resident degen Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,666 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 214	to be fair, after doing my legs for the first time I was kinda questioning my sanity as well...it REALLY hurt at first. Just gonna have to power through I guess. __________________ No supplement can make up for the lack of a strong work ethic.

04-07-2007, 01:46 PM	#34
bigDman is missing heavy pulls Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 4,623 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 186	I wrote an article about the foam roller, but can't post in the article section in till it supports pictures __________________ COME CHECK OUT MY JOURNAL

04-09-2007, 02:05 PM	#38
Ikaika resident degen Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,666 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 214	You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to romanaz again. __________________ No supplement can make up for the lack of a strong work ethic.

04-10-2007, 12:15 AM	#41
bigDman is missing heavy pulls Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 4,623 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 186	Self-Myofascial Release By: Paul Milano Have you ever had dreams where you are able to walk around pain free? Ever dream of being able to deadlift more weight or get down on those ATG squats with no pain? If so then Self-Myofascial Release (SMR) is for you. There are many methods of SMR, but the cheapest and simplest can be done with a tennis ball and a foam roller. SMR is possible because of something called autogenic inhibition. The Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO) is a mechanoreceptor found at the muscle-tendon junction. When tension in the muscle is increased to the point of injury the GTO stimulates muscle spindles to relax the muscle. This relaxation is autogenic inhibition. The GTO isn’t only good for injury prevention, but it also makes proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching effective. The stimulation of the GTO allows an increase in range of motion. With the use of the foam roller you can activate the GTO. This will give you the benefits of stretching and then some. It is well known that a strong muscle that cannot go through a full range of motion is useless. Stretching will increase the length of the muscle, but SMR will increase the quality and tone of the muscle. SMR lengthens the muscle and breaks down soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue. The results you get from the foam roller are similar to those of Active Release Techniques (ART), but because of the extreme price and inconvenience of ART daily treatments are out of the question. This is where the foam roller comes in. SMR on the foam roller is easy, effective, convenient, and inexpensive. Foam rolling will also help correct all those postural problems. If all of this scientific gobbledygook has you confused here is a simple analogy that will hopefully help you understand. Let’s say that we have a rubber band with a knot in it. This rubber band will represent a muscle with some scar tissue in it. When stretching like many fitness professionals advocate you will just tighten the knot. As you pull and stretch the rubber band the knot will just get tighter and tighter and eventually break. Foam rolling is like untying the knot. It will increase the range of motion and also increase the quality of the tissue. Foam rolling is relatively simple and easy to pick up. It doesn’t require much time or effort. Roll across the muscles slowly and stop when you hit a tender spot. Rest on this tender spot in till the pain is gone or close to gone. As you get more comfortable on the foam roller and your muscles become more adept you will want to put more pressure on the foam roller. The easiest way to add resistance is to stack your legs on top of each other. It is most beneficial to work from the proximal (nearest the center of the body) to the distal (furthest from the center of the body) attachment of the muscle. Also, for bigger muscles you can break the muscle into sections and work smaller parts. For instance, instead of working your whole hamstring from top to bottom you can shorten your stroke. First do the top half and then after that is loose go on to the bottom half. People with circulatory problems and chronic pain diseases should not use foam rollers. Also, never roll the lower back. The lower back is not meaty enough to roll around on. This will cause unneeded pressure on the lumbar spine and kidneys There are many places to get foam rollers cheap. I found Perform Better - The Experts in Functional Training and Rehabilitation to be a very reliable place to obtain foam rollers. They have a pretty large selection at a decent price. You will want to get the 6” foam roller (either the 1’ long or 3’ long version) Here are some of the areas you can roll, and pictures on how to do them Hip Flexors: Roll from the upper thigh into the hip. You can do this with your femur both internally and externally rotated. Guys might want to watch out for their boys on this one Quadriceps: Tensor Fascia Latae and Iliotibial Band: This may be one of the more painful ones. Roll from where you leg meets your hip in till the knee. Stack the legs for increase loading. Adductors: Roll your whole inner thigh. Again guys, watch out for your boys! Calves: Try this with the toes up (dorsiflexion) and down (plantarflexion). You can stack your legs to increase the load. Hamstrings: Roll from the bottom of your glutes to the top of your knee. Try rolling with your toes pointed in all different direction to work all parts of the muscle. To increase load do one leg at a time and stack the other on top of the leg you are rolling Gluteus Medius and Piriformis: Roll the lateral portion of your glutes from top to bottom Tibialis Anterior: Gluteus Maximus: Peroneals: Triceps: Start with the roller at the top of your triceps and roll to your elbow. To add resistance place your head on your arm Latissimus Dorsi and Tres Major: Start where the lat attaches to the scapula and roll towards the armpit. Thoracic Extensors, Middle and Lower Trapezius, Rhomboids: This one is excellent for those of you with kyphosis. You start at the middle of the back and roll to the level of your armpits. Keep your butt on the ground. Pectoralis Major and Anterior Deltoid: As with everything in the lifting world you will need to progress. This happens a couple of ways with SMR. You can add more resistance, you can roll on something harder or you can focus on a smaller area. There are foam rollers with PVC pipe in them that can be good for progression. You can also work on a smaller area. To do this you can use a tennis ball or lacrosse ball. Here are some ideas for using your tennis ball Peroneals: Roll on the side of your lower leg. You will have to tilt your body a bit to do this Soleus/gastrocs: Same as the peroneals, but this time focus on the meat of the calf Hip Rotators: Find the bony prominence of the greater tronchanter (hip) and start there. Roll around in the general area. You can make this a bit harder by crossing your leg on to the opposite knee. This will stretch the hip rotators. Expect quite a bit more pain on this one. Tensor Fasciae Latae: To find the TFL you can place your fingers on the bony knob on the lateral aspect of your hip (your penis lines if you will). Shift your weight from one leg to the other. The muscle flexing is your TLF. Roll this muscle. There are quite a few ideas out there already, but that does not mean you are constricted to these only. Be innovative and come up with some new ideas that work for you. Hopefully I have opened some eyes and some people will attempt a little foam rolling in the near future. If you don’t you are missing out. You can take your training to the next level for a small price. SMR will greatly help your tissue quality and recovery time. So what are you waiting for go out and roll! __________________ COME CHECK OUT MY JOURNAL

04-07-2007, 09:01 AM	#33
asianbabe IronMass Sponsor Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 62 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 4	I have one of these at home. These are seriously the type that, the more you do, the less it hurts... and gaddamn it hurts!!!!!! But who here doesn't love pain? The worst offenders to look out for would be the first exercise in that video, man he can talk and do it at the same time like it's nothing.... haha is that even possible?!

04-08-2007, 10:38 PM	#36
Simpy IMPC Contestant Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Kentucky Posts: 70 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 3	I've been wanting to buy one, but I'm a cheap girl. I use a tennis ball.

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