Roll Out.

For some reason this week I have felt more soreness than others. This happens from time to time where some weeks I feel great and some weeks I feel a little beat up for whatever reason. I must admit though that there aren't many days when I actually feel like I'm 28. I am grateful for my good health and passion for staying fit and eating healthy.

When I find myself feeling this way, there are a few things I try to do to speed up the process of feeling better. If possible I try to see my massage therapist, Jamie.  She is amazing at what she does and I always walk out of her office feeling better than I did when I walked in. Massages have helped me so much in all of my endeavors. It has helped me through tweaks, tightness and muscle soreness from more intensive training for running events. I highly recommend investing in yourself if you don't already. 

Another way I try to reduce soreness and increase flexibility is practicing yoga regularly. It has helped me over the last four months that I've committed to making it a part of my weekly routine. I am now more flexible than I have ever been which helps in all aspects of my training and I also have learned to be able to focus on the present and embrace the change of pace that yoga brings to my workouts.

The activity I wanted to expand on a little today that has also helped me a lot is foam rolling. Foam rolling is like your very own personal massage.  I find it a good supplement along with seeing my massage therapist. It's something I can do on my own time and before and after my workouts. There are five regions of the body that I typically take some time on. Think of the knots in your muscles as a candy Starburst.  If you were to hold that starburst between your point finger and your middle finger long enough, the starburst would start to warm up and stretch out.  (Thanks Jamie for that gem.)

Here is my 'roll out' routine:

Glute: Start by sitting on the foam roller. Bend both of your knees and then cross one leg over the other. Whichever leg you cross over, slowly lower that knee towards the ground and shift your body towards that side a little.  People that have sore lower backs during or after a workout tend to have very tight glutes. Rolling them out will help alleviate some of that low back soreness if it's muscular fatigue. If you find a tender spot, try to sit on that spot and breath through it for 30 seconds to two minutes depending on how it feels. This rule applies for any muscle you're rolling out.

IT Band (Iliotibial band): I find my IT bands to be the most tender area to foam roll. Lay on your side and roll from above the knee to the hip.  You can always cross your opposite leg over the top to take some weight off if it's too painful and ease your way into it.


Hamstring:  I usually do one leg at a time so I can put more weight on each individual muscle. Roll your hamstring from just above the knee up to the glute stopping if there's any spots that are more tender than others. 






Quadricep: Lay on your stomach with the roller underneath your quad muscle. Roll from above the knee to the hip flexor. I typically use my elbows to push myself forward and back.





Back: Lay on your back with the foam roller in the small of your back to start. I usually cross my arms in front of me, bend my knees and push off my feet to roll from low back to upper back.



Massage, yoga and foam rolling are great tools to keep your body in the best shape possible so it can perform at its highest level.  They've definitely helped me and I hope they help you too. Happy rolling.