I’m sure you have heard it before, from either your coach, athletic trainer, physical therapist, or massage therapist; but, has anyone told you the benefits of foam rolling? It will help you recover faster, from that insane workout you did, or that race you just PRd at. Foam rolling is a form of self-massage that increases blood flow to the muscles you just exhausted. The actual act of rolling around, as awkward and slightly painful as it can be, increases mobility of the tissue, which will in-turn make your recovery faster and even improve your performance.

Now that you’re onboard with foam rolling for all of its benefits, how do you foam roll and how often should you? If you haven’t ever foam rolled, please know it could be a little uncomfortable/ painful. Trust the process. It’ll be worth it in the end. Depending on how hard you work out and what your goals are for flexibility, you could consider foam rolling daily to every other day. It doesn’t have to take very long. You could spend as little as 5 minutes or as long as 30. Think about doing it while you’re watching TV or relaxing before bed. Make it a routine. You can buy your foam roller at pretty much any retail store these days. Below are a few suggestions to get you started on foam rolling.

I found this great image showing different ways to get all the upper and lower body. Check out their website by clicking images:

train hard | recover smart