Foam Roller your Post-Workout Tension Away.
Welcome to a New Kind of Tension.
pop quiz: the lyric above is from what song and artist? clue: the jealous punks from across the pond don’t want to be seen as fools.
Andrew has been a fan of his foam roller for some time, after the exercises we try to do to keep/get ourselves ski-fit, he suffers tension in his lower back and finds 10 minutes rolling around on the lounge floor eases it a bit.
Alyx Walkinshaw takes it much further. In her article for Outside Online she demonstrates how to get the equivalent of a post-workout massage with your foam roller.
With the right moves, your foam roller can help relieve tight muscles and work the connective tissue between muscles, organs, and bones. Here are the first two of her moves…
Lengthen your Spine and Relax.
Lay on your roller along the length of your spine; ensuring the roller is supporting you from your head to your pelvis. Now relax. Your arms should flop out to the floor, palms up. Your feet, hip distance apart, relaxed.
To get more from this exercise, roll your body gently, slowly and only about 5cm to 10cm, left to right. Roll your head in the opposite direction to your body to relieve tension in your neck. Breath out as you move to the side, in as you return to the centre.
Relax Your Shoulders and Upper Back.
Turn your roller through 90o and lie on it, around your mid-back. Knees bent, feet flat on the floor, core engaged, bum on the floor, hands at your ears, elbows wide in line with your nose. Now, without rolling, release your upper back and shoulders. Breath out as you release, breath in as you re-engage your core.
To get more from this exercise, bring your elbows together and lift your bottom 5cm to 10cm off the floor. Keep your core engaged and roll your roller up your back to the top of your spine and return. Breath in as you move it up and out as you return to the starting position.
Keep a look out for more foam roller tension busters over the coming months.
pop trivia: The lyric is from ‘American Idiot’ the title track from an album of the same name by ‘Green Day’. The single was released in 2005 and nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2005. In July 2018, the track re-entered the UK singles charts following a campaign in advance of Donald Trump’s visit to the UK.
