Crunch Time: Myofascial Release - What the Heck is it and Why YOU should be doing Foam Rolling!

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Myofascial Release - What the Heck is it and Why YOU should be doing Foam Rolling!

I often have people at the gym ask me about "those long blue things" and ask me what they are for?
They are referring to Foam Rollers (see pic), which we have at the gym. I always make time to do a "pop-up" session for them and offer to show them a few basic moves to get them started and on their way to feeling great!
Foam rolling has become the way to perform self-myofascial release—a fancy term for Self Massage and I guarantee you - it's the "cheapest" you will ever get! I have been Foam Both Cliffie and I have been foam rolling for many years and it is "preventative medicine" as far as I am concerned - especially because I run so getting at my IT band (the fascia down the outside of your legs - hip to knee) is very helpful.
I call it "Self-Love" because you can NEVER have too much of that!

So WHAT is MyoFascia anyway ??

Fascia is a layer of connective tissue that wraps and connects nerves, bones, and muscles throughout the body.

Think of foam rolling as actively ironing out your muscles, or more accurately, the fascia.

You hear many people and you may have said this yourself.."I have a knot in my muscle" Well, actually NO you don't - what you are experiencing is the Fascia strained and over contracting causing what we refer to as a "knot".

Doing some Foam Rolling means you’re releasing fascia, which increases flexibility. It can help loosen up tight, hyperactive muscles; release trigger points (where you feel the pain and even scar tissue from prior injuries); improve blood flow and circulation; and stimulate the healing and recovery process; which means less DOMs (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) after your workouts.

Some OTHER BENEFITS of Foam Rolling:

It corrects muscular imbalances, increases mobility and flexibility, and improves range of motion — all of which prevent common injuries. This also directly unlocks increased power and explosiveness, which produces better gains.
It helps reduce pain. Specific rolling exercises can alleviate runner’s knee, plantar fasciitis, lower back pain, fybromyalgia, tennis elbow, shin splints, sciatica and other painful conditions.
It can help to fix posture.
It’s relaxing and can reduce stress — the mild pain and laser-like focus can help distract yourself from whatever’s on your mind!! Which is why I always do it at the END of my workout!
*BONUS*: It’s a solid core workout — most foam rolling moves build core stability!

Experiment with different sizes as well - I would recommend the longer ones to start as they are easier to stay on and maintain balance. Foam Rollers have also become more mainstream over the past 3 years and are easier to find. You don't HAVE to go to a Fitness store as they are sold at Winners, Marshall's, Canadian Tire etc.

You will notice that the "nodules" are different sizes and some (see my Tractor Tire one) below are deeper grids which are for deep tissue massage. These ones are not for the faint of heart or beginner, so start with smaller nodes and work your way up if need be!

YOU CAN EVEN TAKE THEM WHEN YOU TRAVEL !!