as promised, i made a video of the running exercise i do with my trainer. people are constantly asking me for foam roller help so i decided i should go ahead and post one of those too. in order to post videos on my free blog, they have to be from youtube. so i made a youtube channel, but i am super new to that so dont expect much lol i will explain what i am doing here in the blog. my videos are currently unlisted so you will not find them in a search but you can find them here :)
OK, so in the first video u can see it is a very basic move. the main things to focus on in your form are that A- your heels can go flat on the ground (if they cant, move your feet closer to the wall). also, be sure to lift your knee as if youre going to kick or are doing high knees. the most important part is to keep your hips pushed in toward the wall! i do a couple sets of three (usually 3 sets) and then i do another 2 sets of 8. i usually have to do a few in slow motion first just to get the rhythm and movement correct.
this video is sweet for two reasons. reason #1- i get asked how to use a foam roller at least once a week and frankly it is hard to explain in a message or on the phone. two, you get to see my sag and flab in action. pictures are not as realistic because its not moving. here you can see it moving. im going to break down what i am doing for you. i typically do 15 reps of each move, i didnt do 15 of most in this video because i wasnt sure if i had enough storage available for that. plus these are my first youtube videos ever, very poorly planned and i will do better in the future :)
i want to give you a heads up about 4 things- ONE: you cannot roll too much. i suggest 15 reps as a minimum. you could do each move for 10 minutes if you wanted. the longer and more regularly you can roll, the better. TWO- it might hurt. if you dont know if youre in the right spot, move around until youre in a spot that hurts lol the roller is not hurting you. it is releasing toxins and pain built up in your joints and muscles. that release is what hurts. the roller is helping you. i promise if you continue to roll the painful parts you will NOT hurt yourself, eventually itll become less and less painful, and it will actually feel GOOD to roll those parts. roll the parts that hurt the most more often, dont give up on them! it only works if you dont give up! THREE: you do not have to roll in any particular order. i am describing my moves in the order i did them simply to make it easier for you to put it all together, but you dont have to do it in this order. FOUR: buy a quality roller. you can order one from me here. if you buy a P.O.S cheap roller at marshalls or ross it will be soft and its not going to do shit. i keep a cheap on in MA and it doesnt roll me the way my quality ones at home do.
i always start off sitting on my roller, rolling back and forth. you should be rolling between two "speed bumps". these are your sitting bones. back and forth, back and forth. 15x.
next you will take your left arm and put it behind you, and take your left foot and cross it over your right knee. put your right hand on your left knee. u will feel this working your ass muscles. roll 15x at least and then switch sides.
roll your back. put your hands behind your head with your elbows facing up. tilt your head in slightly so u can look at your belly. walk yourself forward and back verrrrry slowly. this not only makes your back feel good, but is a major core workout. roll down to your lower back and see if you can hold it there for a while. you might start to shake. thats ok, it just means youre working multiple groups at one time.
place the roller right below your butt cheeks and use your arms to push yourself back and forth, rolling your hamstrings. you can also do this from the back of your knee to your ankles.
the move i do next was SO painful to be when i started. youre going to go on your side and roll from your hip down to your knee, on the outside of the thigh. this move would bring me to tears when i was just starting and is now my favorite. reminder- you want to work the areas that hurt with the pressure of the roller, so move your body around until you find them. repeat on both sides.
next you will face the floor with the roller under the front of one of your thighs. bend your other leg so that when you push forward and back the roller is connecting with the thigh of one leg and the calf of the other at the same time. roll so that one leg is being rolled from hip to knee, and the other from knee to ankle. switch position to repeat on both legs.
hop up on your shins and roll back and forth. i may just bruise easy, but i always have bruises on my shins from this. keep in mind regular rolling may cause bruising at first. its normal and will go away with practice. i used to have bruises on my thighs and hip bones too but i dont get those any more.
roll on your belly! beware on a full stomach- you might burp, puke, or fart LOL i am serious, i have done it! however, if you are constipated or something this can be a life saver! rolling on your belly helps with digestion! i always roll on my belly before a race to get the "pre-race shits" out of me before i leave the house.
put the roller between your legs, laying on your belly and propping yourself up with your arms and roll your inner thigh. repeat on both sides.
place the roller almost in your armpit, laying slightly on your side, and roll the underside of your shoulder. i just started doing this one so it still hurts a good amount.
and that my f
i want to give you a heads up about 4 things- ONE: you cannot roll too much. i suggest 15 reps as a minimum. you could do each move for 10 minutes if you wanted. the longer and more regularly you can roll, the better. TWO- it might hurt. if you dont know if youre in the right spot, move around until youre in a spot that hurts lol the roller is not hurting you. it is releasing toxins and pain built up in your joints and muscles. that release is what hurts. the roller is helping you. i promise if you continue to roll the painful parts you will NOT hurt yourself, eventually itll become less and less painful, and it will actually feel GOOD to roll those parts. roll the parts that hurt the most more often, dont give up on them! it only works if you dont give up! THREE: you do not have to roll in any particular order. i am describing my moves in the order i did them simply to make it easier for you to put it all together, but you dont have to do it in this order. FOUR: buy a quality roller. you can order one from me here. if you buy a P.O.S cheap roller at marshalls or ross it will be soft and its not going to do shit. i keep a cheap on in MA and it doesnt roll me the way my quality ones at home do.
i always start off sitting on my roller, rolling back and forth. you should be rolling between two "speed bumps". these are your sitting bones. back and forth, back and forth. 15x.
next you will take your left arm and put it behind you, and take your left foot and cross it over your right knee. put your right hand on your left knee. u will feel this working your ass muscles. roll 15x at least and then switch sides.
roll your back. put your hands behind your head with your elbows facing up. tilt your head in slightly so u can look at your belly. walk yourself forward and back verrrrry slowly. this not only makes your back feel good, but is a major core workout. roll down to your lower back and see if you can hold it there for a while. you might start to shake. thats ok, it just means youre working multiple groups at one time.
place the roller right below your butt cheeks and use your arms to push yourself back and forth, rolling your hamstrings. you can also do this from the back of your knee to your ankles.
the move i do next was SO painful to be when i started. youre going to go on your side and roll from your hip down to your knee, on the outside of the thigh. this move would bring me to tears when i was just starting and is now my favorite. reminder- you want to work the areas that hurt with the pressure of the roller, so move your body around until you find them. repeat on both sides.
next you will face the floor with the roller under the front of one of your thighs. bend your other leg so that when you push forward and back the roller is connecting with the thigh of one leg and the calf of the other at the same time. roll so that one leg is being rolled from hip to knee, and the other from knee to ankle. switch position to repeat on both legs.
hop up on your shins and roll back and forth. i may just bruise easy, but i always have bruises on my shins from this. keep in mind regular rolling may cause bruising at first. its normal and will go away with practice. i used to have bruises on my thighs and hip bones too but i dont get those any more.
roll on your belly! beware on a full stomach- you might burp, puke, or fart LOL i am serious, i have done it! however, if you are constipated or something this can be a life saver! rolling on your belly helps with digestion! i always roll on my belly before a race to get the "pre-race shits" out of me before i leave the house.
put the roller between your legs, laying on your belly and propping yourself up with your arms and roll your inner thigh. repeat on both sides.
place the roller almost in your armpit, laying slightly on your side, and roll the underside of your shoulder. i just started doing this one so it still hurts a good amount.
and that my f