I keep reading about how great foam rollers are for muscles. Which ones should I buy?
This is all you need my friend:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=361&pid=1468
A big piece of foam…
Kidding, Cressey linked these two sites in his Feel Better for Ten Bucks article:
performbetter.com/detail.aspx_Q_ID_E_4279_A_rnd_E_43?kbid=1186
performbetter.com/detail.aspx?ID=4592&rnd=32&kbid=1186
To be honest I use the first one and think it works great. Don’t think the second is necessary, your choice though.
[quote]ragingbassist wrote:
This is all you need my friend:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=361&pid=1468 [/quote]
Yep. Get that one.
You can also cheap out and get a chunk of PVC at home depot for $6. It hurts…but in a good way.
Honestly, just going for straight foam is going to reduce the pain (inversely related to effectiveness :D) a lot.
Get at least a PVC core.
go pvc and yoga mat vs the foam roller if you can. Cheaper and better durability!!!
PVC dude, also a tennis ball and a soft ball.
so much easier to come by and much more effective imo. It hurts more more but it works a lot better.
Tennis balls are for girls. Lacrosse balls all the way.
I have a problem with PVC that it slips and slides across the muscle rather than rolling. How do you fix this?
Hasn’t been an issue for me.
Maybe you’re going too fast.
Maybe your floor is too slippery.
Maybe your shorts are the athletic/slippery type?
[quote]ninearms wrote:
Tennis balls are for girls. Lacrosse balls all the way.[/quote]
+1 for Lacrosse balls.
[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
ragingbassist wrote:
This is all you need my friend:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=361&pid=1468
Yep. Get that one.
[/quote]
Ditto this recommendation. I’ve had mine a year with failry heavy use and while not brand new it’s still holding up.
A lacrosse ball is great for areas like the calves, glutes, and infraspinatus.
Just adding that a ball works SO much better than a roller for the hip flexors (but you still want a roller).
Word on the lacrosse balls and pvc.
For calves, if you were going to use a lacrosse ball, do you roll it around with your hands or do the awkward sit on the floor and try to move around on top of it thing?
[quote]smuscarella wrote:
Word on the lacrosse balls and pvc.
For calves, if you were going to use a lacrosse ball, do you roll it around with your hands or do the awkward sit on the floor and try to move around on top of it thing? [/quote]
Awkward sit on the floor thing.
If you check out youtube, Eric Cressey has a short video with Tony G. using a foam roller and lacrosse ball.
[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
ragingbassist wrote:
This is all you need my friend:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=361&pid=1468
Yep. Get that one.
[/quote]
That right there likely qualifies as the best 20 bucks I ever spent.
I have a fantastic one in the UK which I haven’t yet managed to persuade anyone to bring to Mexico for me.
Here in Mexico, the best I found was a hollow swimming pool noodle thing in Walmart. Not the best but better than nothing.
That’s the one that I own. Not that you asked but thought I would add my two cents.
[quote]Just_Jamie wrote:
That’s the one that I own. Not that you asked but thought I would add my two cents.[/quote]
You can add your 2 cents any time.
However, I went out and bought a 12 foot piece of PVC pipe today and a grip liner that would be used in a kitchen cupboard. Total was $30. I’ll still need to attach the “padding” which I think I’ll do with a glue gun. Or, I might try to find some heavy duty rubber bands.
When all is said and done, I should have 3 rollers for about $60.