Foam roller-ing

[TheChosenTwo]

Do you do it? When do you do it? How often?
Just picked back up with running again as I have a marathon place later on this year and I keep hearing people talking about foam rollers. I’ve seen them before in the gym and see how people use them but I don’t know much about it all.
I know I could google but I’d rather prefer to hear from real people!

I have one.

It's an instrument of torture. I use it only when I have no other choice. Gets used about twice a year

I use mine pretty much daily. Sometimes twice. I’m a cyclist and also (currently) chained to desk work, both of which cause horrifically tight neck, shoulder and upper back muscles = hello tension headaches and migraines (if I don’t keep on top of it). I couldn’t survive without it, well I could, I’d just have a perpetual tension headache or migraine. Before I discovered Osteopathy (my Osteopath recommended this programme) I didn’t use a foam roller or stretch, but I suffered from a constant tension headache and frequent (weekly) migraine. That was my life for years!! So it’s a huge incentive for me to keep on top of it. It took about a year of weekly/ fortnightly sessions with an Osteopath, plus all the maintenance stuff to resolve it. Well not resolve it, but move it in to a place where I’ve been able to manage it independently.

I don’t use it for my other tight bits (glutes, quads, calves etc) that you’d perhaps associate with a cyclist. Instead I do a daily programme of stretches for those. If it gets on top of me (or I’ve been too lazy with keeping on top of it), I’ll book in to see my awesome Osteopath who (tortures me) sorts me out.

I guess it depends what your sport is. What your issue is and take it from there really. There’s lots of good stuff on YouTube to inspire you, specific to your sport.

Sorry. Just spotted you’re a runner! Probably best to foam roller as part of a regular stretching and strength program to compliment your running/ minimise injury risk. It’s likely fairly pointless just to foam roller as it won’t address the other areas you’d need to work on to help your body cope with the training volume and ultimately the marathon.

Fellow marathon runner here, and foam roller-ing is all I do to keep things moving. It's torture (especially on the quads) but quick and very effective - plus an excellent substitute for the strength work and yoga I'm too lazy to do.

Thank you, I’ve just ordered a couple (why are there so many to choose from?!) and will try and incorporate them into my post run stretching routine. @fellrunner85 - I couldn’t call myself a Marathon runner at the moment, I’m not even sure I’ll make the start line at the rate I’m progressing

DH (mad cyclist) uses his maybe 4x a week (for legs) while watching telly. Convinced it's marvelous.

Let us know how you get on.