Sunday, July 21, 2013

In Praise of the Foam Roller


It's Sunday and I'm feeling pleasantly tired after a weekend of big activity. On Saturday I led a CHS1 hike to Navaho Pass. The weather was awesome and it became a bit hot as the afternoon approached. But the folks I was with brought plenty of water and were good at accessing their needs and taking it slow so as to not overwork themselves in the heat. What a great group! 

Today I got up early and met with my running partner, Kim, and we did a trial run for the Cutthroat Classic (we're running it in late August) up Rattlesnake Ridge. We ended up doing a little over 11 miles and almost 3000 feet of gain on our run, coming in well under our desired 3 hour time point--even with a bit of loafing around and picture-taking. My walk/run strategy worked well for keeping us mostly down in the aerobic zone when going up the hills and running down the hills on the return trip was absolutely exhilarating. A celebration breakfast afterwards was very welcome! 

After all of that activity, you might wonder how I deal with tired and sore muscles. Besides the stretching I do before and after most exercise, I also use a tool called a foam roller to alleviate tightness and soreness in the myfascia covering my muscles.  

If you've never heard of the foam roller, allow me to introduce you to it. I've you've heard of them but haven't though they were worth the investment, let me change your mind. I bought my first one a little over a year ago, when I got into running and have found it to be an excellent tool to ease post work-out tightness in my muscles from both hiking and running.  

If you've never seen a foam roller before, it's a cylindrical tube made of foam that you use to massage the myofascia covering your muscles. Laying the tight/sore area on top of the roller, use your body weight and arms to roll the affected area back and forth over the roller, mashing the muscle against the roller. Use it on all of the tight muscles in your body including calves, quads, hamstrings, gluts, and your back muscles. It's also really effective on a tight IT band--the connector tendon that runs from the outside of your hip down the outside of your knee. Both hikers and runners will find that all of these places get tight on them after activity.  

You can cut down on the amount of tightness and soreness you feel if you use the roller shortly after the workout or at least before you go to bed. I usually use my roller every night, regardless of my level of activity during the day. I must admit to having a love-hate relationship with my foam roller. As hiking and running are so leg intensive, rolling out your quads, calves, and IT band after a long hike can be exquisitely painful because those muscles get so much use, but it's so incredibly effective in getting the fascia and muscle to relax that the pain is worth it. I grit my teeth when using it on these parts, but I find that using it on my glutes or back muscles actually feels really good and is very relaxing.  

The best way to learn about foam roller uses is to buy one (they cost around $20+) and to check out different ways you can use it--most of them come with a little instruction booklet. Here's a quick video on YouTube which talks about the myofacia and using the foam roller to address two key spots on the body that hikers will appreciate: the IT band and quads:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvUZJxO-RCk 

I bought a short foam roller that I can take with me on trips. It fits into my book bag that I take on the plane, allowing me to my rolling even when I'm away from home.  

Check it out--I hope you develop a love/hate relationship with a foam roller soon!

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