Start using the Foam roller and enjoy the benefit’s
You might have spotted those blue foam rollers kicking around the academy wondering what exactly there were? Read below to learn a bit about the awesome training an recovery tool that will help keep you healthy and feeling your best.
What is Foam Rolling Anyway?
Foam rolling is a quick do it yourself way to treat your soft tissues after workout. A sports massage is the ideal way of releasing the tight areas so that they recover faster, but sports massages cost money. However, if you own a foam roller you can get some of that job done yourself NOW keep in mind it is in now way a replacement for a quality manual therapist as a good therapist can work magic, but for sure a much better idea than doing nothing
Why is Foam Rolling a Good Idea?
Muscles in peak condition are soft, supple, but after a stressful workout knots of tension build up , hitting and being hit causes adhesion’s where different layers of muscle fibers begin to stick together.If you don’t allow your body a chance to recover the odds are you will start moving differently & problems will develop. Picture your body as a lump of steak—foam rolling tenderizes the muscles, breaks up knots and loosens up the affected area, just as you would do with a lump of prime steak prior to cooking it. Lose supple muscles are more flexible , able to produce more force and a lot more efficient.
3 quick Reasons to Foam Roll Every Day
Some people only drag out the foam roller when an injury threatens, but there are lots of great reasons to use a foam roller on a daily basis.
- Post workout recovery – Taking a few days off after a tough series of workouts will help your body recover, but foam rolling is far more effective and will help you keep on track with your martial arts and fitness program. For best results, use a foam roller straight after a workout to release tight spots and sooth sore muscles. After muay thai for example i generally like to roll out my legs as they have done major work.
- Injury prevention –if things were ideal we would all get a massage after every training sessions but since this isn’t the case for most, a few mins of the foam rollers can help to prevent injures marital artist and boxers need to look at, like as ITBand syndrome and the dreaded shin splints by ironing out the trigger points that cause problems before they get to far outta hand.
- Increase flexibility – It doesn’t matter what type of martial arts and fitness activity you are into —flexibility is important and staying flexible reduces the likelihood of injury, make you more mobile, stronger and incredibly less prone to injury. Regular foam rolling might not turn you into a Muay thai or BJJ phenom over night , but it will definitely help perform a lot better on a day to day basis.
Does Foam Rolling hurt?
Honestly guys?? IT CAN 🙂 Deep tissue massage, which is essentially what foam rolling is, can be a painful experience. The more knots and tight spots you have, the more uncomfortable it will feel. Hit sore areas slowly and if a particular spot is very painful, apply pressure around it instead. If you 30 seconds—although if it doesn’t or the pain is very sharp, its always a better idea to check with a professional.
Foam rolling really helps so try using your roller daily and drink plenty of fluids post-workout to help your body flush the toxins away. At first it can be tricky as you have to learn how to hit each exact area properly and with the right amount of pressure but once you understand how to use it the roller is a great tool and something you can pick up at any sporting goods store at a reasonable price
visit www.youtube.com and seach “whatever body part you want” + foam roller and away you go.
Coach