It was great to hear Rob discuss foam rolling on SHR radio. I do it before every session thanks to Dr. Peter Rouse's suggestions and I've learned how to use the foam roller along with some back exercises that have considerably reduced my 15 year old back pain. Allow me to throw in a tip.
1) If you use the roller on the front of the body and the middle of the legs you wont need to do nearly as much foam rolling on the back, especially if your groin and pec minor muscles are tight.
2) You can make your own cheap rollers from home depot using thick PVC pipe of varying diameter and you can easily adjust the hardness to your liking by purchasing the cheap white rolls of foam they probably have a couple of rows down, oh... and you'll need some duct tape too.
3) If you need to adjust a particular vertebrae then us an american football. You can purchase one for about 10 bucks from target and you can adjust the density by adding air or releasing air. It also sits very nicely between the spinal erectors and you can roll all the way down the the cervical vertebrae unlike with a foam roller. This is one I learned from my yoga teacher and a way to avoid those $40 back thingys they sell to yoga people.
I am definitely more limber and flexible because of these little things I've discovered on my own and want to share that with some BluePrinters that might be having mobility issues and are not able/willing to spend money for massage or chiro.
I seriously hope this can help someone beyond the whole bodybuilding thing. My back pain was so bad I had to lay on my back in the library while studying, I didnt care less if people stared because I was in so much pain LOL.
Foam Rolling
Re: Foam Rolling
FANTASTIC contribution Dragon! I'm going to give FR on the FRONT of my body a try today. And your football tip? Pure GOLD my man...Dragon wrote:It was great to hear Rob discuss foam rolling on SHR radio. I do it before every session thanks to Dr. Peter Rouse's suggestions and I've learned how to use the foam roller along with some back exercises that have considerably reduced my 15 year old back pain. Allow me to throw in a tip.
1) If you use the roller on the front of the body and the middle of the legs you wont need to do nearly as much foam rolling on the back, especially if your groin and pec minor muscles are tight.
2) You can make your own cheap rollers from home depot using thick PVC pipe of varying diameter and you can easily adjust the hardness to your liking by purchasing the cheap white rolls of foam they probably have a couple of rows down, oh... and you'll need some duct tape too.
3) If you need to adjust a particular vertebrae then us an american football. You can purchase one for about 10 bucks from target and you can adjust the density by adding air or releasing air. It also sits very nicely between the spinal erectors and you can roll all the way down the the cervical vertebrae unlike with a foam roller. This is one I learned from my yoga teacher and a way to avoid those $40 back thingys they sell to yoga people.
I am definitely more limber and flexible because of these little things I've discovered on my own and want to share that with some BluePrinters that might be having mobility issues and are not able/willing to spend money for massage or chiro.
I seriously hope this can help someone beyond the whole bodybuilding thing. My back pain was so bad I had to lay on my back in the library while studying, I didnt care less if people stared because I was in so much pain LOL.
Folks, if you haven't tried Foam Rolling yet please do. It's PERFECT for those long breaks between sets, particularly when you're re-couping for max strength work - where the CNS is taxed!
Very true, and precisely why bridging is GOLD...Dragon wrote:So true about doing it between sets!
And with most chiros almost completely ignoring the front of the body, there are almost always adhesions and inflammation on/in the chest that are surprisingly painful and tend to pull the shoulders forward. So many big muscular guys with terrble kyphosis!
Great advice here and during that SHR episode. I am thinking about buying the rumbleroller from Dick's but it is so freaking expensive ($75). It looks like it would be especially effective though. On the other hand, I have a mini-football (hard enough to work) so I can put that tip into effect immediately. My chiropractor indeed does nothing that I know of to the front of my body...great advice I say again!