So my 15 year old daughter has asked that we join the local gym/fitness megacenter so that she can work out with her friends there and take some fitness classes with them. A parent needs to sign up too and not much more to have both … thus I am now a member. In general I exercise regularly but have what I need at home (plus bike and running shoes) and the social aspect of being a gym rat never appealed to me. Still the family membership came with a trainer session for each of us and four additional prepaid that can be divvied up how we like. My wife declines.
Hence I had one and then a second trainer session.
The trainer is big on foam rolling as part of a warm-up.
Reading up some I see some slight benefits documented and no harm other than the time. Used after they may decrease DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) some (although I don’t mind a little DOMS …psychologically kinda like it actually), but before maybe helping ROM some.
To me though I’d rather warm up by starting slower or lighter and then ramping up. And I stretch some at the end or sometimes in the middle.
TL;DNR? Is foam rolling worth the time and effort? Do the fitness-heads here use 'em regularly? I gotta admit I felt a bit stupid rolling on them.
We use them, but not for workout-related stuff. I tend to get tightness in particular muscle groups, so I use it to loosen those. My husband uses his all the time to help with his back.
I take it back - I do use them IN workouts. I’ll balance on them for crunches sometimes.
They seem to be quite trendy and popular. I don’t find it that helpful myself. I don’t notice increased range of motion, and my muscles don’t get very sore after most workouts. Some studies suggest a benefit to ROM and DOMS via self-myofascial release. None show harm, some show little benefit.
My guess is they’re now included in PT courses and are something of the moment. Having said that, when I got back into exercise, rolling my IT bands did really help for a couple of weeks.
Otherwise I’m unaware of any benefits of rolling that conventional stretching can’t deal with - the best answer for me is regular Pilates classes, two a week is perfect.
I use them at the beginning of a workout, sometimes. Since DOMS, by definition, hasn’t yet appeared by the end of a workout, it feels kind of silly to me to use a foam roller at the end of a workout, and I haven’t noticed it actually stopping the soreness from appearing. However, once my muscles have gotten tight and knotted, foam rolling can feel like torture, but also make my muscles feel better afterwards.
In terms of using it as part of a warm-up? It doesn’t take the place of dynamic stretching, but if your muscles are tight, then using the foam roller can help make the dynamic stretches more effective by extending your range of motion (since warm muscles stretch further). If my muscles aren’t tight or sore then I don’t see any benefit.
I also feel compelled to mention that just yesterday, a health professional advised that I use a foam roller. Well, if a chiropractor counts. I experience pain when standing in a position that has me leaning forward (think activities like washing dishes, vacuuming, or grocery shopping), and my chiropractor said foam rolling would help to put my back into extension, and stretch it in the opposite direction.