Foam Roller Massage for Hamstrings, Calves and Lower Back.
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 another two of her moves…
Massage for Hamstrings and Calves.
Don’t be fooled by how easy this one seems. Sitting upright, legs straight out in front of you, place your foam roller under your legs, just below your butt. Use your hands for balance and movement; cross one leg over the other and roll the bottom leg up and down your hamstring from just below your butt to just above your knee. Repeat the massage for hamstrings for the other leg.
Next, repeat for just below the knee to just above the ankle to massage your calves. Roll each muscle five to ten times to get a good massage. For additional massage roll your feet and knees left and right to work the sides of the muscle groups.
Release Muscles in your Lower Back.
Lay on your back, slide your foam roller under your lower back, just above your butt; knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Lift your feet, bringing your knees towards your chest, cup each knee with a hand and circle both knees, repeat five to ten times and then repeat in the opposite direction.
Next, hold one leg in both hands and straighten the other to the ground. Now rotate the foot and ankle of the leg you are holding five to ten times in each direction. Then, repeat for the other leg. Remember to breathe deeply with each rotation.
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.
