If you have a foam roll or are considering buying one, but you don’t know how to use it or how it can help, this video is for you. Here is a short routine you can follow to release tight muscles. But first let’s understand what foam rolling does, how it helps and what mistakes to avoid. If you want to skip to the routine go to this minute in the video.
When you swim your muscles constantly break down. As Coach Jeff from runnersconnect.net explains
“Over time this causes the muscles to become tight when the fascia, the connective tissue that surrounds the muscles, starts to thicken and shorten to protect the underlying muscle from further damage.
Sometimes the fibers and fascia contract so much they form trigger points, which manifest as sore spots needing to be released.”
“Foam rolling, also known as myofascial release, is the application of pressure to eliminate scar-tissue and soft-tissue adhesion by freeing up your fascia.”
So, now that we understand what it does, it is important to avoid these common mistakes.
Firstly, don’t foam roll too much in one place. This can cause bruising and can create further damage to the tissue. Go a maximum of 20 seconds on each area.
Secondly, don’t foam roll directly on an injured area. Go lightly on the area of pain. Sometimes the area where you feel pain is not the problem. For example, sometimes my knees hurt and it is because my quads are really tense. So work on the surrounding areas and opposite group of muscles.
Thirdly, don’t foam roll too quickly. Sometimes if it hurts you want to foam roll quickly on that area, but it works better if you do it slowly.
Having said that let’s do a full body foam rolling routine.
We will start from the bottom. Sit down and roll slowly on your calves. You can put more weight on your leg if you want more pressure. Then after you do each ankle go to your hamstrings. Our glutes often get tense too, so try doing this. Then work on the quads. First do it straight down, then go a little to one side and then to the other. Roll slowly on the trigger points. You’ll notice them when you get there. The abdomen and lower back are vulnerable because there is no rib cage, so we will move up to the upper back. Move your arms as you do this to target different areas. Finally, go to your lats. This muscle gets really tense, specially for swimmers. Remember go slowly and move your arm to target different points.
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