My newest BFF, my Rumble Roller. This thing is not for the faint of heart, it's not for wimps or sissies, it's for hard core lifters who get tight and can take the pain of the roller.
I actually bought two, this regular sized one and a small 12" travel one. It's so easy to come up with excuses in life, excuses for anything Take your food- "well I was in meetings all day and had to have the Chinese they brought in" , baloney! If you ALWAYS bring food with you everywhere you go, you do not have an opportunity to make up an excuse. Then you just look like a fool who has no will power if you choose the Chinese over your own healthy lunch you brought!
So that was my reasoning for two Rumble Rollers I have absolutely no excuse not to roll every single day, no matter where I am. The large one I keep in my living room, here where I am rolling now.
The small one I keep in my car. I can bring it into the gym with me (Gold's has only one foam roller, one!!!), bring it to a hotel when I go visit Cooper in Chico, take it on vacation, even to Mexico.
No Excuses.
But seriously, this has helped me tremendously. Foam rolling (or in my case rumbling) has been proven to be one of the most effective self-myofascial release techniques known. Basically you find a tight or painful spot, and the roll on it, not stopping, pushing through the pain, and keep rolling 30 times more after the pain has ceased, really.
Rolling only a couple times and then stopping when it is still uncomfortable has not relaxed the muscle as it should.
Foam rolling has been hailed as "magical" and the one recovery technique that all athletes should perform without fail.
Mike Boyle talks about it here. Or check out The Greatist and learn to Foam Roll Like Pro. And for those of you who need video, check out Bodybuilding .com where they show you haw to roll just about every body part!
I chose the Extra Firm Rumble Roller and it is like a foam roller with treads on it, they are not foam in any sense and the treads are hard. When I first started using it, all I could do was lay on it in some areas, such as my poor hip flexors. No rolling was taking place, the pain was too much to bear. Soon I became used to it, the muscles started to relax and I was rolling like a champ! I did find that I had small bruises all over my hips after my first few intense rolling sessions though.
I encourage you to get a roller, and if you are a tough cookie, and tend to have tight muscles, go for the Rumble Roller, you will be glad you did!
Do you think that rumbling, or rolling, would make any sense for me, who has tight muscles just because I am stressed and uptight, and not because of excess of exercise?
ReplyDeleteDerek- I think that it will work for muscles that are tight, no matter how they became that way. But I would suggest first trying a regular foam roller, and if you do not have one at a gym or yoga studio, then go to a sporting goods store and see if there is one there you can try out. Also, a tennis ball is great too, it gets right onto the small areas. Then you can move to a baseball or lacrosse ball and even a golf ball.
DeleteI have bruising all over my IT band where I use it the most. This does not worry you. I am thinking about returning it. Thanks for your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne- I have encountered bruising on occasion, if I am too hard with the pressure on a sensitive area. Sometimes I need to just rest the body part on the roller and not move, so it acts more as a trigger point devise. I have never had any bruises on my IT and, I get them on my glutes which is the area I really put a lot of pressure on.
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