So I do alot of foam rolling. Atleast once a day usually on my back, hip flexors, quads and IT band as these are the main areas where I need to loosen up (I have had some serious low back/spinal problems over the past couple years that I’m trying to rehab so I can get back to squatting again).
My question is, how long should I roll a certain area to get the most benefit? I usually roll back and forth about 10 times or so and go slow on the spots that feel extra tight/tender. Is this alright? I’d like to know as I’ve been recommending foam rolling to alot of PT clients but have been unsure about how long to focus on each area.
i would really like to know this too, as of now i only really roll my back. sometimes my quads and rotators but i dont feel enough pressure to get my hamstrings.
i like to roll a few times really slow with my arms wraped around me to get the scapula out of the way, i slowly move up and the goal for me is to get my thorasic verts flexible. i try to get those “pops” and it feels really good.
then ill hit the two tennis balls taped together, starting at the top traps ill bear all my body weight on the balls and very slowly grind down to my lower back. this feels AMAZING and it gets all the knots and shit out of my erectors.
sometimes ill use the ball on my VMO too.
anybody have like a beginner program for foam rolling? like a prehab rippetoes?
I’d like to hear some suggestions, too. I started by using the roller on all my muscles, but now I spend most of my time rolling where it hurts. It’s amazing how quickly the foam roller works.
Yeah, just go by feel. Sometimes I get lazy with it, and then for a few days I’ll roll all over, with extra attention to painful spots.
After those few days I switch to “maintenance” where I basically just roll areas I know are usually the worst for me (personally: IT bands, calves, upper back) but not for very long.
More is probably not going to hurt you, but it just takes up your time.
let your body be your guide. when you start to feel looser, then stop.
You really don’t need to spend more than 10 minutes or so on the roller unless you are hitting every muscle.
once you do it consistently for awhile you won’t need as much frequency either. cut back to a 2-3 day maintenance program focusing only on common tight spots.
What I do is I foam roll a bodypart until it hurts less. I hate doing this crap 3x/wk or whatever. I discovered that if I do a long 30-40 minute session once a week, it is enough to make me feel good the whole week.
I use either PVC pipe or lacrosse ball - because they are so hard they are much more effective, and as a bonus they will last forever.
[quote]bearmd wrote:
I can’t really feel anything when I foam roll my hamstrings, even when I stack my legs. Where can I buy a piece of PVC pipe to try that on them?[/quote]
Hey man,
I asked Eric Cressey about this a while back. Here’s what was said:
Me:
“When foam rolling, I can barely feel it on my hamstrings. I use tennis balls and a 4’ PVC pipe and still nothing. How can I give my hamstrings a beating to help out my flexibility?”
Eric:
“Hamstrings don’t tend to get balled up like other muscles. I just leave them alone in most people.”
So yeah, I guess hamstrings don’t need foam rolling. PVC won’t help. But it does make foam rolling everything else more effective. You can get a PVC pipe at Home Depot or a similar hardware store. They usually have some smaller pre-cut ones that would be ideal. I got one that is 4" diameter and 2ft. long. Definitely brings on the hurt a lot more than regular foam rollers
it depends really on how tight u are… to me ten times back and forth seems a little on the low side i would say something like take 10-15 mins on all ur tight body parts… 2-3 times a week also
dont know about the 30-40 min session… not that i question its effectiveness but i just dont think i could foam roll for that long without dying of boredom
i will roll up and down a few times, then, i will go slowly down the entire length of the muscle, when i hit a painful spot i hold it for 20-40 seconds… in that length of time i usually feel the muscle just turn into jello and relax. i find that gives me the best results for myself.
i’ll do that one time for each spot in the session. i try to do it each day.
i will roll up and down a few times, then, i will go slowly down the entire length of the muscle, when i hit a painful spot i hold it for 20-40 seconds… in that length of time i usually feel the muscle just turn into jello and relax. i find that gives me the best results for myself.
i’ll do that one time for each spot in the session. i try to do it each day.
peace[/quote]
I’ve never tried actually holding it on the painful spot for a while. Probably cause it hurts lol. I’m going to give that a try, thanks.
And for HotCarl: Yes, a 30-40 minute session can get pretty boring. But that’s what TV/Music is for. It’s like being one of those people that go to the gym because it’s healthy but they really hate it - you just watch TV/listen to music on the treadmill!
I agree with “feeling” how much you should foam roll. I would only do it once a day, just from experience. I think the pain from foam rolling did not get any better for about 3 weeks. Just stick with it and you will see the results.
