Thursday, July 26, 2012

How to Foam Roll Like a Pro (#Infographic)

For the past few weeks, I've been teaching a Foam Roller class on Thursday mornings. I did some continuing education on the subject, and have used the roller both on myself and with my clients, but I find that teaching this class is a challenge, albeit one I'm willing to accept. 

The previous instructor was a massage therapist—much more proficient in foam rolling than I might ever be as it is a form of self-massage. And while she approached the class from a very self-massage point of view, I come at it in terms of self-massage AND static stretching. Sometimes even core work.

And while I enjoy teaching the class, as I said before, I do find that it's a challenge to teach.

1) It's hard to watch everyone while maintaining a proper roll.
2) It's hard to set the roller aside to watch everyone as my people like to follow along.
3) It's hard to fill an entire hour with foam rolling.

But I make do. I take it slow, adding in the static stretching and core work. For the most part, I think everyone likes it. And if it's something you think you might be interested in, here's a handy infographic that outlines some of the basics:


Foam Rolling Infographic


Question: What's your experience with the foam roller? Do you enjoy it? Have a favorite move?

9 comments:

Danielle @Clean Food... said...

Love this post!!! So useful!!! Mobility work is so important to overall fitness! 

adailydoseoffit said...

I totally agree...and so many people forget that. Grrr!

Heather Montgomery said...

I have a love hate relationship with my foam roller and have mentioned it many times on my blog. I suffer from pretty bad IT band issues and while it has helped a lot I also despise it at the same time!

RunToTheFinish said...

i do foam roll allllll the time now. It's a weird painful but good thing :) not sure I could go for an hour though

adailydoseoffit said...

That IT roll is the worst! But so...good...

adailydoseoffit said...

It's hard, which is why I like to mix it up.

Ericka @ The Sweet Life said...

Great chart! I just started using the foam roller when I began crossfit and it has been a lifesaver. this chart irealllly helpful for remembering what to do!  --Ericka @ The Sweet Life (sweetlifeericka.com)

adailydoseoffit said...

Isn't it, though?! Good luck with the CrossFit!

Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin said...

I have a foam roller, but I don't do it as much as I should. This chart is super helpful though and has cleared up some things I wasn't so sure about - thanks for posting it! :)

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