3 Reasons To Foam Roll Daily

3 reasons to Foam Roll daily

There are many reasons why you should incorporate Self Myofascial Release (SMR or Foam Rolling) into your pre-workout warm-ups or generally into your day to day life.

Benefit 1: An Acute Increase in Range of Motion

One benefit is that it will allow your body to travel through full range of motion (ROM) during your workouts via improved neuromuscular efficiency.

For example, when squatting, you may find that your pelvis tilts forward as you descend into the bottom part of the movement. This can be due to tight calves from sitting all day or lots of walking. Foam rolling the calves and soleus before a session might ensure that your ROM increases and that you don’t put pressure on your lower back during the exercise.

Performing SMR along with static stretches after working out can help maintain the ROM to a greater degree than if done alone ⁽¹⁾. Be sure to fit it in before & after your workouts, but also be aware that this is only an acute increase in ROM. To ensure your ROM is increased and maintained long term you have to ensure that your workout programme is catering to this directly and that you actively strengthen the muscle groups involved.

Benefit 2: Faster Recovery

A second great benefit is that it can help accelerate your recovery between sessions.

Have you ever woken up a day or two after a workout and experienced a deep soreness in the muscles you worked in the last session? This is Delayed Onset Muscles Soreness or DOMS for short.

If you are aching every time you walk into the gym from previous sessions, it can really affect your motivation to train, and impact adherence to your training programme.  It’s important that you put in place a protocol to combat the effects of DOMS to ensure you walk into every session fully recovered and ready to take on the workout.

Foam Rolling for 30-60 seconds per body part should be enough time to iron out any tender spots you may feel. Start at 30 if you are a beginner and gradually work your way up to 60 seconds as you get more comfortable with it..

Benefit 3: Lower Injury Risk

The third benefit is that it can help protect your body from injury.

Many clients who we work with have never heard of SMR, or have no idea how or why they should apply it to their day to day life. But the reasons why are fairly simple.

We’ve all been injured once in our lifetime, and if it’s not due to an accident, the chances are that it’s our current lifestyle and habits that put us in the situation in the first place.

If you’re someone who is sat down at your desk all day, with your shoulders rounding forward, and your back hunching over, then the chances of you picking up an injury when you train are greatly increased.

It’s imperative that you put protocols such as SMR in place to reduce the chances of you sustaining an injury through training or day to day life.

That’s why a huge focus of your programming and training should focus on pre-habilitation. We believe in not only giving you the fundamentals to feel amazing every day but also teaching you the foundations, allowing you to excel in your training and reach your goals safely and effectively with no unwanted injuries halting your progress.

Reference:

David G. Behm, Anthony J. Blazevich, Anthony D. Kay, Malachy McHugh. (2016). Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 41 (1), 1-11.

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