Any fitness fanatic knows that when it comes to making progress, sticking to a recovery routine is just as important as sticking to your workout plan if you want to get bigger and stronger (after all, you can’t get a good workout in if you’re constantly injured or have a limited range of motion). And while taking basic steps like warming up properly or stretching can help, sometimes you just need a little bit more.
Another way to improve mobility, become more flexible, and prevent injury is self-myofascial release, or massaging your own muscles. You probably already knew that, and we bet you even have a foam roller to prove it. But even that’s not the end of the road when it comes to maximizing muscle recovery and making serious gains. There’s an endless sea of methods to facilitate muscle recovery, and even more tools to do it, so we’ve narrowed down some of our favorites.
Click through for some of the best recovery tools to keep you on track to a perfect physique.
9 Tools to Help You Recover Smarter and Make Serious Gains
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Foam Roller
Sure, you probably have a foam roller—or at the least, your gym does—and know the benefits of including this essential activity in your routine. But a model like the Hyperice Vyper 2.0 ($200, hyperice.com) takes foam rolling up a few notches. It offers three speeds of intense vibration to help you dig deeper into your muscles more easily than you can with traditional foam rolling. And trust us—it really gets in there. Even the Vyper’s surface is next-level, featuring both a smooth and grooved texture that conforms to your body and really gets in there. It seems intense at first, but once you’re used to it, your sore muscles won’t be able to get enough.
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E-stim Kit
Electronic stimulation has long been used by phyical therapists as a way to activate muscles and reduce pain, but as a muscle recovery tool, it’s arguably just hitting its stride in the mainstream—and the technology itself has come a long way. Take, for example, the Wireless USA 2.0 Muscle Stimulator Kit with TENS by Compex ($1,099.99, compexusa.com). Its wireless electrodes deliver neuro-muscular electrical nerve stimulation to help you recover more quickly post-workout and boost performance by properly activating specific muscle groups before you start lifting. And no wires means no tangles or annoying restrictions. Once you follow along with the instructions and place the electrode pads in the right spots and connect the pods, just let the next-level stim do its thing.
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Dorling Kindersley: Stefan Podhorodecki / Getty
Lacrosse Ball
For those impossibly tight knots in your muscles, a lacrosse ball could be your new best friend. It’s simple, it’s cheap, and it’ll seriously dig in to relieve the tension. Sandwich it between you and a wall to hit your back, shoulders, and glutes. It’s also a great way to relieve plantar fasciitis—just roll it back and forth along the arch of your foot. If you want to roll out your spinal erectors without worrying about hitting your spine, you can also tape two balls together to create a dual-zone roller. You can find them at pretty much any sporting goods store or online. (For example, these ones that go for $3 each at dickssportinggoods.com)
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Foot Roller
If your feet are in serious need of some love, consider going for a roller made to get the job done, like TriggerPoint’s Nano Foot Roller ($25, tptherapy.com). It’ll be a game-changer if you have plantar fasciitis, and still feel awesome if you don’t. The Nano roller comes in two densities—firm and extra-firm—so you can choose based on the level of intensity you prefer. You may not always notice the muscles in your feet while you’re pumping iron, but they deserve some TLC, too.
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Barbell
You may be used to using barbells to train, but don’t relegate them to their traditional intra-workout use. Particularly after a next-level leg day, a barbell can come in handy to massage your muscles. It’s like a foam roller, but kicked up a few notches. Just lay an unloaded barbell onto the floor, sit next to it with your legs outstretched, and pick up one end, placing it onto your leg and rolling it back and forth. It’s not going to feel great at first, so play with the amount of pressure you apply until you’re used to it.
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Mobility Bar
Mobility and flexibility are key aspects of staying injury-free, no matter what your workouts entail. On upper-body days, a mobility bar is the perfect warm-up tool to keep shoulders healthy and improve range of motion. ProBar’s durable metal mobility bar ($200, probarmobility.com) is a souped-up, three-in-one version of a classic mobility bar—it can be constructed as a long bar, a short bar, or dual bars, and additional 1.1-lb weights can be attached to increase resistance. The long bar construction also features a twist-and-pull design with spring-loaded resistance that helps correct poor movement patterns and decrease your chance of injury.
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Massage Stick
Foam rollers are great tools for warming up or cooling down via self-myofascial release, but another great option is a massage stick like TriggerPoint’s STK Sleek Handheld Massage Stick ($30, tptherapy.com). Massage sticks have the added benefit of being smaller, making them more portable, and they make it easy to pinpoint certain muscles and control the amount of pressure you apply.
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Pressure Point Roller
Pressure point massage sticks like Rumble Roller’s Beastie Bar ($50, rumbleroller.com) are admittedly pretty intense. With a name that includes the word “beastie”, you know you can expect a serious effect. And sure enough, this bar offers a deep-tissue massage that’s probably as intense as your workouts. This stick massager features two of the brand’s Beasties, each of which features 60 super-firm, high-profile bumps to dig deeper and work any smaller muscles that your foam roller may neglect. It also comes with two detachable, secure stands, if you’d rather go hands-free with your deep-tissue massaging.
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Dual Zone Back Roller
At one point or another, nearly every athlete has a complaint or two related to his back. Self-myofascial release is a helpful tool, but avoiding your spine while you hit those muscles can be tricky. Gaiam’s compact, back-specific roller ($15, gaiam.com) is about as affordable as recovery gets, but it’s undeniably sleeker than the aforementioned taped-together lacrosse balls (and won’t involve peeling or frayed tape at any point in time). If your lower back or neck is perpetually tight, this dual-zone roller lets you safely dig in to those muscles without worrying about inadvertently hitting your spine and causing injury.
Sure, you probably have a foam roller—or at the least, your gym does—and know the benefits of including this essential activity in your routine. But a model like the Hyperice Vyper 2.0 ($200, hyperice.com) takes foam rolling up a few notches. It offers three speeds of intense vibration to help you dig deeper into your muscles more easily than you can with traditional foam rolling. And trust us—it really gets in there. Even the Vyper’s surface is next-level, featuring both a smooth and grooved texture that conforms to your body and really gets in there. It seems intense at first, but once you’re used to it, your sore muscles won’t be able to get enough.
E-stim Kit
Electronic stimulation has long been used by phyical therapists as a way to activate muscles and reduce pain, but as a muscle recovery tool, it’s arguably just hitting its stride in the mainstream—and the technology itself has come a long way. Take, for example, the Wireless USA 2.0 Muscle Stimulator Kit with TENS by Compex ($1,099.99, compexusa.com). Its wireless electrodes deliver neuro-muscular electrical nerve stimulation to help you recover more quickly post-workout and boost performance by properly activating specific muscle groups before you start lifting. And no wires means no tangles or annoying restrictions. Once you follow along with the instructions and place the electrode pads in the right spots and connect the pods, just let the next-level stim do its thing.
Lacrosse Ball
For those impossibly tight knots in your muscles, a lacrosse ball could be your new best friend. It’s simple, it’s cheap, and it’ll seriously dig in to relieve the tension. Sandwich it between you and a wall to hit your back, shoulders, and glutes. It’s also a great way to relieve plantar fasciitis—just roll it back and forth along the arch of your foot. If you want to roll out your spinal erectors without worrying about hitting your spine, you can also tape two balls together to create a dual-zone roller. You can find them at pretty much any sporting goods store or online. (For example, these ones that go for $3 each at dickssportinggoods.com)
Foot Roller
If your feet are in serious need of some love, consider going for a roller made to get the job done, like TriggerPoint’s Nano Foot Roller ($25, tptherapy.com). It’ll be a game-changer if you have plantar fasciitis, and still feel awesome if you don’t. The Nano roller comes in two densities—firm and extra-firm—so you can choose based on the level of intensity you prefer. You may not always notice the muscles in your feet while you’re pumping iron, but they deserve some TLC, too.
Barbell
You may be used to using barbells to train, but don’t relegate them to their traditional intra-workout use. Particularly after a next-level leg day, a barbell can come in handy to massage your muscles. It’s like a foam roller, but kicked up a few notches. Just lay an unloaded barbell onto the floor, sit next to it with your legs outstretched, and pick up one end, placing it onto your leg and rolling it back and forth. It’s not going to feel great at first, so play with the amount of pressure you apply until you’re used to it.
Mobility Bar
Mobility and flexibility are key aspects of staying injury-free, no matter what your workouts entail. On upper-body days, a mobility bar is the perfect warm-up tool to keep shoulders healthy and improve range of motion. ProBar’s durable metal mobility bar ($200, probarmobility.com) is a souped-up, three-in-one version of a classic mobility bar—it can be constructed as a long bar, a short bar, or dual bars, and additional 1.1-lb weights can be attached to increase resistance. The long bar construction also features a twist-and-pull design with spring-loaded resistance that helps correct poor movement patterns and decrease your chance of injury.
Massage Stick
Foam rollers are great tools for warming up or cooling down via self-myofascial release, but another great option is a massage stick like TriggerPoint’s STK Sleek Handheld Massage Stick ($30, tptherapy.com). Massage sticks have the added benefit of being smaller, making them more portable, and they make it easy to pinpoint certain muscles and control the amount of pressure you apply.
Pressure Point Roller
Pressure point massage sticks like Rumble Roller’s Beastie Bar ($50, rumbleroller.com) are admittedly pretty intense. With a name that includes the word “beastie”, you know you can expect a serious effect. And sure enough, this bar offers a deep-tissue massage that’s probably as intense as your workouts. This stick massager features two of the brand’s Beasties, each of which features 60 super-firm, high-profile bumps to dig deeper and work any smaller muscles that your foam roller may neglect. It also comes with two detachable, secure stands, if you’d rather go hands-free with your deep-tissue massaging.
Dual Zone Back Roller
At one point or another, nearly every athlete has a complaint or two related to his back. Self-myofascial release is a helpful tool, but avoiding your spine while you hit those muscles can be tricky. Gaiam’s compact, back-specific roller ($15, gaiam.com) is about as affordable as recovery gets, but it’s undeniably sleeker than the aforementioned taped-together lacrosse balls (and won’t involve peeling or frayed tape at any point in time). If your lower back or neck is perpetually tight, this dual-zone roller lets you safely dig in to those muscles without worrying about inadvertently hitting your spine and causing injury.
