foam roller to avoid lower back pain and other aches.

Pain in the lower part of the back, pain in the upper part of the back, pain in the hips, knees... Bad mobility and poor flexibility, limited range of motion? 

It has become very popular to work out these days, to hit the gym and make some gains.

HOWEVER,

As the established physician Paul Check would say... "You need to work out and work in"... 

I'd like to put the emphasis on the work in part. I've spent a lot of time working out and It has paid back tenfold but I have to admit, I've had my share of discomforts and injuries along the way. 

I'd like to share with you today, something that I wish someone would of informed me about years ago when I just began working out. 

Foam rollers are one of the best things you could spend your money on. They truly are amazing. 

The way they work is as simple as how they look.

 You can use the roller for myofascial release. In other words, It's giving yourself a good old massage. This kind of a massage helps you release muscle tightness and work on your trigger points aka places where it hurts when you press on. 

Personally, my problematic area used to be my calf muscles, they hurt a lot when being pressed on with a lacrosse ball. Nowadays that has reduced drastically. 

So, now that you know what a foam roller is and how It works, time to show you some practical ways to actually use it ! So here's my personal TOP 5! 

5. The painfully satisfying, calf roll! 

Sit down on the floor, position the roller underneth your calf muscle, put the other leg on top of the leg you are rolling at the given time. Keep rolling up and down but don't forget to go around the sides as well, wherever you feel more tension, pain or a 'knot', try adding pressure to the point and add circular motion in combination with applying pressure.

In my experience this works even better If you use a lacrosse ball or if you use a foam roller, use one that is pretty hard, If it's soft you wont feel it on that part of your body.

4.The extraordinarily simple, hamstring roll! 

As you lay on the floor, position the foam roller underneath your hamstring. Same as calfs, roll the hamstrings one at a time, from top to bottom, bottom to top, from side to side. Include circular motion. In most cases hamstrings feel very easy, with little pain or discomfort. I still suggest these as a daily move because hamstrings are a very popular injury in the sport world and also are one of the nastiest places to get cramps in! 

3.Wings of an eagle! It's time to for the lat roll! 

I love using a foam roller on my lats, It definitely causes discomfort but It's also pretty easy to apply additional pressure on them. So this time you want to position the foam roller sort of under your armpits. So you'll be rolling on your side basically. Roll from your armpits (including the armpit itself) down to where you feel your lats end/connect. It's a bit awkward and you'll also need to do some rotation to get the maximum lat connection with foam roller but the more you do it the better you'll get at it.

With this move, I like to roll up and down as slow as I can and apply more pressure in the armpit area, trying to push my arms behind my back if that makes sense. Try to use this move to work on your shoulder mobility as well that way, as the posterior chain is connected with your shoulder mobility in a major way.

2.The sexually seductive... hip roll! 

This is going to be much easier for women than It is for men. Trust me. 

Position the foam roller under your quads, as you four face is directly against the floor. roll up till you reach your hips, here's where the gentlemen need to be careful, It's very easy to roll on the wrong things If you're not careful. Been there, done that, lived to tell a story... 

Make sure to really roll around all the positions of the hip, not just one point. This is bit challenging but just experiment, each persons body is different, try working around all the angles of the hip, sometimes It's best to make tiny, few inch motions around it and not even use a rolling motion. 

1. The thoraxtic orgasm! 

This movement is so great I do it literally 2-3 times EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It feels amazing. Even If I'm rushing through my morning as a I'm still chewing on my breakfast, wearing a sports jacket and an ironed shirt, I'll still lay on the foam roller to do this stretch for a minute or two. 

I found an illustration of it on the Internet and hope it explains It well enough. There's some cues I'll give you though! 

First of all, as you perform this movement, start by positioning the foam roller just above the middle part of your back. Don't place it any lower as It might cause discomfort or even pain in your lower back If you're not very mobile in that area. As you extend your arms behind your head, keep changing the position of the roller slightly to change the stretch on your thorax. Aim to touch the floor with your palms, It should be challenging but no pain whatsoever should occur at any point. After you've done a good stretch you will feel an immediate tension relief in your upper body, It'll feel great and almost addictive because after a long day sitting in the office, this will the best perfection solution to help avoiding the rounding of your shoulders.

Now that you know WHY to use a foam roller and HOW to use it, there's really no reason to avoid using one. One of these will cost you a minimal amount of money and will literally serve you for years and years and years, It's a must have in any house hold.  Also, don't forget that a foam roller even though being great is not the only solution, lacrosse balls are great as well and basically whatever works for you is awesome. 

Here are some of the products I use or have used and that I suggest purchasing, including an inexpensive foam roller.
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If you have any questions or want to ask me something you can contact me on my twitter
https://twitter.com/fitasboss or by writting directly to my email

andrewirgovcy@gmail.com

Your sincerely,

AlphaAndrew.