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Real Life Fitness Questions Answered

Kelly Marshall
Fitness Consultant

Posted 04 Jul 12

Any tips for using my foam roller?

Hi, I have bought a foam roller to help with some soreness in my muscles following exercise. Do you have any tips on getting the best out of this? Thanks.

Our expert says...

Hi,

 

Firstly a MASSIVE well done for buying a foam roller as I love them and have been using them with clients for over 10 years (when they first came to the UK). I even did my Masters Dissertation on the foam roller!

 

Main tips for getting the most from them:

 

- When using, roll slowly along the line of a relaxed muscle group, i.e. the calf, until you find a tender (or painful!) spot at which point you statically hold the pressure to that area for at least 30 seconds. The 30 seconds is necessary to allow the tissue to register and adjust accordingly to the pressure, with increased blood flow, increased temperature and a relax reflex to the area.

 

- Don’t roll back and forth over a area that ‘flips’ – find an area then statically hold.

 

- Ideally it should be done as a warm up AND cool down and always done before static stretching (as foam rolling allows you to get more from any static stretching you do).

 

- Don’t do static holds directly on varicose veins

 

- Make it part of your daily routine! It doesn’t have to be around exercise it can be in front of the TV to support flexibility

 

Hope this helps,

 

Kelly

 

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