Why Everyone Who Exercises Should Use a Roller
You’ve perhaps seen people rolling around on a foam roller and thought that it was just for athletes or super fit people? That’s not the case. Rolling is important for everyone at any fitness level. Keep reading to discover some of the benefits and some further facts about rolling.
What type of roller should you buy?
A fantastic training tool to speed up the body’s recovery after exercise, to help increase flexibility and to reduce the chances of exercise-related injuries, foam rollers are designed to help release stress and loosen up muscles.
Rollers differ in size, shape, structure and material. It’s best to begin with a foam roller that is dense enough to reach trigger points. When you notice that the knots in your muscles aren’t being properly loosened it’s time to upgrade your roller. You can buy harder plastic rollers which are much denser and therefore more intense on the muscles; however, it’s better to work up to these as they can be too harsh initially, especially if you’re new to it!
The benefits of using a roller after you exercise
Injury prevention
When you excessively exercise, issues such as IT Syndrome and other problems can start to develop. By rolling daily, you are massaging the muscles and helping to prevent fascia build-up. This will, in turn, help to prevent those areas from becoming injury trigger points.
Helps you de-stress and relax
Foam roll all your stresses away and enter relaxation. When you’ve found the knots in your body or tight muscles, you’re releasing tension that has built up in your connective tissues and therefore releasing your stress. If you work at a desk all day, particularly work on the knots and tension in your spine.
Flexibility
The foam roller will tend to damaged muscles and help to keep flexibility stable. Flexibility is particularly important for older people and those getting back into fitness (and anyone really). It will also help build on your flexibility which is vital for any fitness regime.
Strengthening
As well as keeping the body supple and tensionless, this piece can be used for strengthening exercises. A good example would be pelvic tilts – placing your feet hip-width apart on the roller and pushing down to lift your hips as you would in a normal pelvic tilt. It adds height, makes you work hard to stabilise your glutes and ankles. Another good example is performing a high plank using the roller – placing your hands on the roller and lifting one off at a time for a harder challenge.
Relatively Inexpensive
Rollers are relatively inexpensive – particularly considering you can target almost all of your muscle groups (compare this to paying for a weekly sports massage!) and the fact that they last quite some time.
You can find a short, dense and slightly textured foam roller in the InstructorLive shop for £24.99. This is the perfect density for massage and flexibility and will suit both roller pros and those just starting out.
