Foam Rolling for Runners and Crossfitters

I've been getting sore muscles quite a bit lately from lots of crossfit and running so I decided to purchase a foam roller on Amazon. Foam rolling is basically like getting a sports or deep tissue massage.  Massaging your soft tissue breaks down adhesions and scar tissue and soothes tight  connective tissue. Foam rolling also increases blood flow and circulation to your muscles, so its beneficial before and after a workout. I primarily use my foam roller after a workout to recover and to massage sore muscles at any point in the day. Unfortunatly, I'm often rushed after my morning workout and don't spend as much time on the foam roller as I should. However, I have plenty of time to foam roll in the evening while I'm watching TV, for example.

Once you buy the foam roller (try to get 18 inches or more), it's really easy to use. Basically, just roll your body over the roller, focusing on different muscle groups. Just roll back and forth over the muscle, using your body weight for resistance. Check out this Runner's World article that has some good videos of foam rolling movements for your leg muscles.

In CrossFit, you use your legs muscles as well as your upper body. Foam rolling your chest, back, shoulders, and arms is a little trickier than your legs. You kind of have to get into some weird positions. I scoured youtube for some videos of foam rolling your upper body. I've never tried some of the arm and chest movements so I'm definitely going to do those in the future after hard upper body workouts!

Foam Rolling for Upper Back

 

Foam Rolling for Arms

 

Foam Rolling for Chest and Shoulders