I feel like there are 2 camps when it comes to foam rolling. ⛺

Camp #1: Anytime you have an ache or pain, feel stiff, or want to warm up; foam rolling is the answer! ????

Camp #2: It is a waste of time and doesn’t actually help you loosen up anything. ????‍♂️

I’d say we fall in the middle. Foam rolling as a stand alone warm up is better than doing nothing before activity. It should be a piece of your pre-activity warmup. Combining it with a dynamic warmup would be practice to get your body primed for movement! ????

In this video we go over some of the main areas that can benefit from giving them a little love. Spend 30-45 seconds on each area.

1. Mid thoracic spine: You can generally roll back and forth. But setting your rear on the ground and extending over the roller can open up your thoracic spine for overhead or rotational movmements.

2. Latisimus Dorsi: Roll up and down the muscle, bringing your arm overhead to put a stretch on that muscle. Then rolling your arm with thumb and rotating into a supinated position can further give that lat a nice stretch.

3. Quadriceps: Roll over the middle, inside, and outside of each quad. You can bend your knee into flexion to put a different stretch on it.

4. Hamstrings: Work from the ischial tuberostiy (sit bone) to right above the knee

5. Glutes: Bend one leg over the other to put a slight stretch in the external rotators of the hip and glute muscles. Work from the top of your hip bone to the above the sit bone.

6. TFL/IT Band: Really focus on the TFL, which at the top of your leg on the side. You can lightly roll over the IT Band, but with it being a fibrous structutre you will not be much benefit but directly rolling over it.

Give these a shot before or after activity next time! ????