Training with Dylan

Why would we bother rolling up and down on a blue cylinder or a spikey ball and causing ourselves immense pain in the process? The Answer: To feel less pain…

Some smart blokes up in the Great White North (Canada) conducted an experiment to determine whether foam rolling made any difference in recovery time and muscle soreness during the time. The answer was a resounding yes. They put athletes through some rigorous tests, weightlifting, agility work and sprinting to absolutely fry their quadriceps. After the workout and the days following, they had some subjects rolling out their quads on a medium density foam roller and another poor group of subjects were left to feel the pain. They were able to test the level of muscle tenderness in these subjects in the recovery period after the workouts (next 48hrs) and the answer was clear, foam rolling will help with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

DOMS

If you’ve never heard of DOMS before, you have probably felt it after a hard workout (maybe with me, not sorry). You wake up a day or two after a hard workout and your muscles are stiff as anything, you can’t walk, or you can’t reach around to scratch your back. Good news is, if you foam rolled before and after your workout, you wouldn’t be in so much pain!

But why?

Massage or self-massage on a foam roller helps to increase circulation and blood flow to the area, aids in removing waste products and breaking down scar tissue. Increasing the circulation and blood flow allows the body to provide the sore areas with oxygen and nutrients more efficiently, hence the recovery process goes more smoothly.

Helps with your posture 

Foam Rolling also helps with fixing postural imbalances. Let’s say you roll your shoulders forward a little bit too much, rounding your upper back, all from too much time spent at the computer or a desk. Because of the position your body spends time in, your chest muscles will have shortened and become tight and conversely your back and shoulders have become elongated and weak. So, to fix this posture we need to do two things. First, strengthen the upper back and posterior deltoids (back shoulders) and secondly, elongate our chest and anterior deltoids (front shoulders). We can do this by stretching out our chest and shoulders but also using a massage gun or spikey ball to release the muscle tension in those areas. By both strengthening the back and releasing the chest we open the chest and draw the shoulders back, leaving our body in a stronger and healthier posture!

In conclusion, grab a blue roller and give yourself a massage, because at the end of the day, it’s cheaper than a masseuse.