Foam Roller
This weekend I bought a foam roller. I had read about foam rollers for a while in different workout blogs and fitness publications, but I had no idea what they were. Only that foam rollers were used for self message. This weekend I finally broke down and looked them up, and foam rollers are a thicker, shorter version of those noodles kids beat each other with in the pool these days.
So why do I need a foam roller and what are they for? Three weeks ago, I pulled something in my upper back while squating my warm up weight. Is my warm up weight 400 lbs because I am hard core? No. A real warm up. First set, bar with no weight, just to practice form. I probably did it grabbing the bar, even before squating.
For the next three days I could not sleep more than an hour through the night. I cut out swimming and lifting completely for a week, did kick only for a week and then returned to light swim workouts and still have not returned to lifting.
Lots of reading about my back.
What did I do? I probably strained one of of the small muscles in my back that stabilizes my shoulder.
What caused the problem? Several things. First, I was lifting heavy chest and light back, creating an imbalance. To aggravate that situation, I have poor posture when I sit. Luckily, I only sit 95% of the hours I am awake. Last week I was training individuals at their desks, where I was typically standing behind them most of the day. This is probably the biggest reason for my quick recovery. Instead of sitting for 10 hours at work, I sat for less than 1. My back feels much better this week.
So foam roller? Yes, I got the foam roller over the weekend to help relax my back. It is used for all big muscles in the body, but I was most interested in what it could do for my back. It is very easy to use for the back. You essentially balance your upper back on the noodle/foam roller, and then use your legs to roll your back from top to bottom, stopping on any points that hurt, until the pain decreases.
Other than the back, the roller is really only good for the muscles in the legs. I was ready and expected the level of pain that I experienced in my back “rolling” myself, but after playing racketball, rolling my hamstrings and IT band, OUCH!
After 10 minutes of rolling, I felt great. It is very similar to post yoga, where the body feels nicely relaxed, but completely awake. No idea if that makes sense, but you are very aware of your body, and it is ready to go workout, or go to sleep.
Last night, I rolled for the first time right before bed. This was a good idea, and I went right to sleep.
Now, what do I do with the dogs when they decide it is time to help?