Foam Rolling? Whats it all about?

Most people tend to have a take it or leave it attitude to foam rolling. It is seen as something we can skip at the end of a workout, mainly because we feel we need to get out of the gym asap and get on with our lives in the most efficient way. We tend to hobble through the pain for the next few days, when in fact, just a short 10 minutes on the foam roller will help to reduce DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), quite dramatically.

Recent studies have found that a quick stint on the foam roller post workout can actually be a short cut to superior fitness levels.

A test was run where the subjects cycled on a stationary bike for 70 minutes until the point of exhaustion. Then, a foam roller was used on one leg and the other was left alone with the lactic acid build up. To analyse the effect of this biopsies were taken from each leg before the test ran conducted, immediately after, and also after 2.5 hours of recovery had taken place.

The results showed were interesting to say the least.

Just 10 minutes on the foam roller post workout reduced the effects of DOMS and inflammation by damaging the effects of inflammatory proteins. The brief massage also increased the number of energy producing mitochondria within your muscle cells.

So, with a simple post workout roll, you will be able to start converting glucose into fuel and push yourself towards new levels of endurance. Just a bit of short term foam rolling pain could lead to massive gains in the long run.