If you like massage but can’t afford them all the time then this post is for you. A foam roller is an affordable piece of equipment that can relax muscle groups that are commonly tight. You can roll on top of the roller and target muscle groups of your shoulders, back, hips, and legs. I use the roller as part of my warm up prior to all my workouts. You can also us it to work on specific problem areas you might have due to running, standing or sitting at a desk all day or to help recover from injury.
As a society, we sit too much. We sit in our car or on a train or bus to get to work. When we arrive at work we sit at our desk all day. Then we back to sitting during our commute home only to get home and sit on the couch. Our bodies aren’t designed for all this sitting and so this leads to dysfunction- most notably a weakness in the muscles of the hip- the gluteal muscles. These are the butt muscles and when they are weak or tight they can cause problems with the low back or in the knees or ankles.
The first movement in the video is simply how to roll your glutes. The second movement with the ankle crossed over the knee-joint is a stretch with the roll to dig deeper into the muscle. I recommend about 30-60 seconds for each muscle group but the longer the better. Foam rollers come in different lengths and levels of firmness and are sold at some sporting good stores. Or check out Perform Better in my blog roll for a wide selection. Send me a message if you have more questions regarding the foam roller.
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