In my blog post about foam rollers, Jackie asks the following question:

“How do you use the foam rollers?”

Jackie, thanks for asking such a great question.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words so I in order to provide you with a very descriptive response, I went to the ever-trusty video sharing web site YouTube™ and found a pretty good video demonstrating the use of a foam roller.

The video I found, which you can see below, demonstrates the four key areas that need to be targeted:

• Hamstrings
• Calf and Soleus
• Quadriceps
• Lower Back

The techniques demonstrated in this demonstrate are right on and should be copied exactly to form.

Foam Roller Exercise Video

Key points not mentioned in the video

Although the above video is quite good, here are some key points about the use of a foam roller that are NOT mentioned:

• Differences between a tight and overactive muscle
  Always remember, there is a difference between a TIGHT muscle and an OVERACTIVE muscle. I will go into much greater detail about this key point in a future blog post, but for now, all I want people to remember is if a muscle is TIGHT, you stretch it. If a muscle is OVERACTIVE you have to relax or release it.

Without getting into medical jargon, the major point I am trying to make is that a foam roller releases an overactive muscle. The person in the video even mentions the term myofascial release which a foam roller is. They slightly confuse the point by repeatedly calling it a stretch. In any event, just remember this modality is a release and not a stretch.

• The take away lesson
  The take away lesson is that YOU CAN RELEASE A MUSCLE TOO MUCH! And if you release a muscle too much, it will actually rebound and become OVEREXCITED all over again, and this spells trouble for the athlete.

Therefore, utilizing the forms demonstrated in the video, the recommended use of a foam roller is 3-4 times a week, allowing a day off between uses.

Enjoy the video and thanks again Jackie for reading this blog and participating!

I have preached the benefits of foam rollers for years to both my elite runners and recreational runners. But it wasn’t until my first 8 mile run that I realized EXACTLY how beneficial they are.  Here is the concept, when you run, or do any activity for that matter, muscles will contract and relax, causing joints to move.  Pretty basic so far.  The problem is that over time, your body develops movement patterns, some of these movement patterns are normal, some are abnormal, but the result is the same.  The more we move, the more we REINFORCE those movements.

The BIG problem is when you reinforce abnormal movements, it will result in injury, but here is the funny part. Even when you reinforce proper movements, but you do it over and over again, as in the case of training for a marathon, you still develop muscle soreness.  That is until your body acclimates to new distance and new intensity.

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

-Tight hamstrings

-Tight IT bands

-Tight shins (shin splints)

Although we perceive them as TIGHT, they are actually OVERACTIVE, and the proper course to treating an overactive muscle group is to RELAX them, and this is where the foam roller comes in.

Using a foam roller 3-4 times a week, (I recommend always giving yourself a day in between use) will help to break down the tight areas (adhesions) in these overactive muscles that are the result of repetitive stress. And if you are training for a marathon, you are putting your body under repetitive stress.  Foam rolling has been a life saver as I have progressed through my long runs.

Shoot me your thoughts and comments.