When it comes to muscle recovery, one method that’s become ubiquitous in recent years is the foam roller, and for good reason. Foam rolling is a great technique for self-myofascial release, aka loosening knotted-up muscle tissue.
Massaging your muscles with a foam roller is a simple way to alleviate tightness, ease pain, and get blood flowing to the areas you roll out. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper than massage therapy. If you do it properly and stay consistent, it can be a serious game changer in any lifter’s routine.
But there’s more to foam rolling than just going through the motions for a minute or two once you’re done working out, and if you’re rolling incorrectly, you’re just wasting time. So we recruited the developer of the Rumble Roller (rumbleroller.com), Ron Johnson, to correct common foam-rolling mistakes.
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Vladimir Borovic
You roll too fast
“You’re not flattening out pizza dough,” Johnson says. “You’re attempting to cause neurological changes in a muscle, and that doesn’t happen immediately.”
Found a tender spot? Hang out on it for 20 seconds or more, then roll very slowly until you find the next spot.
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Ihor Bulyhin
You roll at the gym
Contrary to popular belief, the gym should be reserved for training only. Johnson says. “Do your hard work in the gym, then use your foam roller later at home during your downtime. Foam rolling isn’t a workout, nor is it an effective warmup. It’s physical therapy.”
Translation: Netflix and roll.
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PeopleImages
You flex the muscle
“Focus on relaxing the muscle, which lets the roller sink in and reach depper fibers, ” Johnson says. “Dont be overly concerned with your body poistion or form. Your body isn’t under load, so alignment isn’t critical.”
Drape your body across the roller in whatever way best hits the spot, relax and let the roller do the work.
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Goolia Photography
You ignore the ends of the muscle
“To get the most benefit from foam rolling, you need to work the muscle close to its insertion points,” Johnson says. “These areas are much easier to reach with a bumpy roller than with a smooth roller.”
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Just Life
You use only one type of roller
If you can’t hang out on a tender spot while keeping the muscle relaxed, you’re probably using a roller that’s too firm. Johnson reccommends taking the intesity down a notch. “There’s no shame in using a softer roller or different rollers and massage tools for different body parts,” he says. “Most foam rollers cost less than a single session with a massage therapist, so you can probably afford to own more than one.”
