The Importance of Foam Rolling

Sore muscles.  At one point in everyone’s life, I am pretty sure we have experiences the pain and discomfort of sore muscles from physical activity. What some people may not have experienced is that bittersweet feeling of foam rolling.  What exactly is foam rolling and why is it beneficial for our recovery?

Foam rollers are primarily used for SMR (self-myofascial release).  SMR put simply is when we apply a dragging pressure on out muscle tissue in order to have our body to release muscle tension and increase mobility between the sliding surfaces of our muscles. SMR is a major contributor to increased blood circulation and increased mobility range of motion in our recovering muscles.  All of which allows our recovery time to decrease and make room for more effective training sessions.

When should we foam roll? Personally, I love to roll out before and after my workout.  Before my workout as a prelude to my dynamic warm up to stretch out my muscle tissues which allows them to be less tight, decreasing my probability of pulling or straining my muscles.  Post-workout it is a great way to decrease any lactic acid build up, which also allows you to recover quicker and be less sore after a training session.

Choosing your foam roller: There are a million and one different foam rollers on the market and I have probably invested hundreds of dollars into the different kinds in hopes of finding one that works and feels the best.  From flat to pointy surfaces you name it and I have tried it.  It wasn’t until I gave The knot out a try (They did not pay me to advertise for them and I get no financial benefits from promoting them in this post).  The reason why I fell in love with the Knot out is because their rollers are not flat, they are “squiggly” for lack of a better term, which is perfect because my muscles are not flat.  So having different approaches to angles and pressure points during my roll out sessions allows me to reach larger areas and go more in depth into the muscle tissue.  They also have two different densities, soft and firm.  That again, creates diversity while rolling out your muscles.

What’s great about them is that they also have an entire section on their website dedicated to educating people on how to PROPERLY foam roll and the different ways to foam roll.

You can also use code “LETLER” and receive 15% off your purchase of your knot out. Click the following link to be directed to their website and use the code at checkout! The KnotOut Coupon Code


Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s