Table of Contents
Foam rollers are time-tested self-massage tools that accelerate muscle recovery after working out while supporting overall mobility and flexibility. The concept of foam rollers is fairly simple—glide your body along the surface to massage and stretch out your muscles—but making the most of this handy tool requires a bit of technique.
As one of the best recovery equipment for athletes, foam rollers offer versatile and effective ways to enhance your recovery. By trying out different foam roller exercises, you can target different muscle groups and optimize your recovery routine. Learn how to use a foam roller by first figuring out the right roller for you, and then adding these eight exercises to your post-gym routine.
What is Foam Rolling?
Foam rolling is a massage technique that involves leveraging your body weight against a firm foam cylinder to work out knots and stimulate blood flow. As a form of self-myofascial release, it targets both your muscles and your connective tissue to loosen you up before or after a workout.
Benefits of Foam Rolling
Like other forms of massage, foam rolling provides you with several health and wellness benefits at once. These are just some of the reasons to start using a foam roller1:
- Increasing blood flow and improving circulation
- Enhancing your flexibility and extending your range of motion
- Reducing muscle soreness and muscle pain after a workout
- Helping you relax both physically and mentally
Getting Started with Foam Rolling
Once you incorporate foam rolling exercises into your routine, you’ll wonder why it took you so long to try it in the first place. Even though foam rolling is a straightforward practice, there are a few things you should know before you go to town on those tight muscles.
Choosing the Right Foam Roller
To maximize the benefits of your foam rolling exercise sessions, start by choosing the right equipment. Foam rollers come in various diameters, lengths, densities, and textures to target different issues and simulate different massaging techniques.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most popular versions:
- Firm foam rollers – Firm rollers usually have a foam exterior wrapped around a hard plastic interior, so there’s less give as you apply your body weight to the tool. This ensures a more intense massage.
- Soft foam rollers – For a light massage, look for a less dense roller made entirely of soft, slightly flexible foam.
- Deep tissue rollers – To amplify the intensity of your massage, look for an option with a highly textured exterior (protruding squares, circles, or ridges). These bumps apply more localized pressure, which allows you to work out knots more easily.
- Vibrating rollers – By choosing a textured, firm foam roller that also vibrates, you can maximize the roller’s effect while minimizing your muscle pain and discomfort.
When to Use a Foam Roller
You can use a foam roller for a deep stretch before your workout or as a massage after exercise to reduce soreness and refresh your muscles. Because they come in different shapes and sizes, you can achieve a variety of results. You might start with a firm or soft foam roller for your pre-session stretch, then use a textured roller to reduce muscle tension in your calves, quads, and IT bands after leg day.
When Not to Use a Foam Roller
Even though foam rollers are extremely versatile tools for stretching and massage, there are certain situations when you should leave them behind.
If you have an active injury, such as a torn ligament or an inflamed disc, you don’t want to risk aggravating your pain with massage. Other conditions, like deep vein thrombosis and nerve pain, can also be worsened with foam rolling.
When considering using a foam roller vs massage ball, it's important to evaluate your specific needs and any existing conditions. While foam rollers are great for overall muscle recovery, massage balls can provide more targeted relief for smaller, hard-to-reach areas without exacerbating certain injuries.
How to Use a Foam Roller
Ready to roll? Follow this step-by-step guide to elevate your stretches with a foam roller.
Basic Foam Rolling Techniques
Regardless of the type of foam roller exercise you do or where you use your foam roller, you’ll need to follow the same basic steps: pinpoint, lower, hold, roll, and repeat. This technique targets trigger points and knots, applies deep pressure, and uses a rocking motion to loosen your muscles and tissue.
Here’s what each step entails:
- Pinpoint – Identify the sore or tight spot you want to massage. Usually, if you roll over large muscle areas, the precise spots to target will become pretty clear, pretty quickly.
- Lower – Slowly sink your body into the foam roller, maintaining contact between the target knot and the top of the roller. Try to relax as much as possible.
- Hold – Stay in the same position for 30 seconds to apply deep pressure to the muscle tissue. Don’t forget to breathe! If you hold tension in your tight muscles, you won’t reap the same rewards.
- Roll – Slowly roll your body along the foam cylinder to release the surrounding areas. Stay in a fairly localized position for now.
- Repeat – Find the next area in need of release and do it all again!
As you move, you may need to experiment with different levels of pressure. Let your whole body release into the roller, or shift some of your weight to other parts of your body to adjust the intensity of the massage.
Foam Roller Safety
Similarly to massage guns, foam rollers are generally safe, but they have one major restriction: don’t use the roller on your joints. Rolling directly over joints or bones could cause painful inflammation or irritate your nerves.2 Stick to muscular areas to avoid overworking a sensitive spot or hyperextending your joints.
When comparing a foam roller vs massage gun, it's important to note that each has its own advantages and precautions. Foam rollers are great for broad muscle areas and overall recovery, while massage guns offer more targeted relief and can be adjusted for intensity. Ultimately, the best way to avoid an injury is to listen to your body. Although foam rolling can be painful, it should be a satisfying, relieving pain. If you feel like the pain is too intense, or you simply aren’t comfortable pushing yourself further, take a break or move the roller away from the problem area.
Foam Roller Exercises
Now that you know the basics, it’s time to get to work. Here’s how to massage some of your major muscle groups with the help of your foam roller.
Calf Exercise
Your calves can carry tons of tension, so they’re a great place to start. Sit down with your legs straight in front of you, then place the roller under your ankles. Prop yourself up with your hands, raising yourself off of the ground and pressing into the roller. Massage your calves back and forth from the ankles to the back of the knees until you feel relief.
For more intense pressure, cross one leg over the other and massage one calf at a time.
IT Band Exercise
If you’ve ever felt tension along the outer side of your hips and thighs, your IT band might be the source. To target this area, you’ll need to lie on your side and sit your hip on the roller. You can roll up and down (from your hip to just above your knee) and side to side (especially if you find a super tight area).
Quadriceps Exercise
To work out your quads, start in the plank position and wedge the roller between the floor and your thighs. Find a comfortable position resting on your forearms, then roll back and forth, using your feet as leverage. Glide yourself on the roller from above your knees to below your hip bones. You can target both quads at once, or position the roller underneath each thigh individually for a more intense massage.
Hamstring Exercise
If you spend a lot of time sitting down, your hamstrings may be neglected. Sit down with the foam roller underneath one of your thighs. Using your other leg and your hands for support, lean your body weight onto your hamstrings and move up and down along the roller. After you’re done working out one side of your body, switch to the next leg.
Adductor Exercise
Working out your inner thighs with a foam roller can take a bit of flexibility, but you’ll be able to release pent-up tension that’s often overlooked. One option is to lie face-down on the floor with your legs flat, then bend one of your knees to the side at a 90-degree angle. Place the roller under your knee, perpendicular to your thigh. Then, lean from left to right to stretch out your inner thigh, especially right above the knee.
Glute Exercise
Your glutes are the largest muscle in your body, so they deserve some extra attention after your workouts. Sit directly on your foam roller, leaning back on your hands for support. With one foot planted firmly on the ground, rest the opposite ankle on your knee. Roll back and forth, then side to side, before switching your legs to target the other side of your body.
Upper Back Exercise
Back pain is no joke, but a bit of self-massage can help you keep the discomfort at bay and improve your posture. To work out your shoulders and upper back, lie down with the roller between your shoulder and the floor. With your knees bent and your feet on the floor, glide back and forth between your neck and middle back, keeping even pressure between both shoulders.
Latissimus Dorsi Exercise
Because your lats are hiding underneath your armpits, it can be easy to forget them during your stretching and massaging. However, they can have a major impact on your posture and the overall tension in your body. Lie on your side and position the roller underneath your armpit. Lean back so the pressure is focused on your lats, then use your legs to roll out the area.
Explore Lifepro Foam Rollers Today
Crafting the right recovery routine starts with acquiring the right exercise aids for your body. At Lifepro, you can find thoughtfully designed recovery equipment like foam rollers and massage balls. Purchase a foam roller from Lifepro today to give yourself a boost with a restorative, rejuvenating self-massage routine.
Sources:
- Cleveland Clinic. Should You Try Foam Rolling? https://health.clevelandclinic.org/foam-rolling
Author
Joel Gottehrer is the Co-Founder of Lifepro Fitness and has dedicated his life to helping people transform theirs. With over 12 years of experience in the fitness industry as a personal trainer and owner of two personal training studios, Joel has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to helping transform lives. After suffering from physical injuries, Joel and his business partner, Abraham Brach, came together with a common goal to alleviate the pain caused by their injuries.
They continued to find themselves disappointed with the results stemming from various products promising to relieve their pain, and with that – Lifepro Fitness was born. Joel's mission is to have a positive impact on millions of lives with the Lifepro brand. Whether it's finding new and innovative ways to help people recover from injuries or developing products to improve overall wellness, Joel is always looking for ways to push the boundaries. Thanks to his commitment to help people live their lives free of pain, Lifepro has been able to do this for thousands of people since its founding in 2017.
