Good Afternoon Team and Happy Friday!

We're about a month out from opening the doors to Riveroak Fitness and I got to say, this is all quite surreal for us. This is such a wonderful place to set up and we are so very excited to introduce this vision to you all! Really though, what I'm here to chat about today is that dreadful 12 or 18 inch despicable peace of foam sitting in the deepest darkest crest of your local gym. Yes, the damn Foam Roller!

Foam Rolling – Do I even need to, really?

Let me be frank, YES-ABSOLUTELY!!!!!

For some reason, the idea of walking around with body pain and aches is solely solvable by taking an Advil and working through the pain. That pain is a fact of life. It's a sign of getting older or out of shape. There are plenty of good people out there (tbh, me at times) who are training through pain and trying to work around injuries. We go through workout after workout feeling that tweak in our knee on every squat, or hearing a crunch in our shoulders as we press.

It’s scary and it’s not a good place to be.

But how do we fix it?

Trips to the chiropractor? Expensive treatments? Sports massage? These can work, but there might be a more simple, quicker, cheaper solution – foam rolling or self myofascial release. Before the macros and the hypertrophy and all the fun stuff about working out and being active, take some time to invest in your own body and your longevity. I promise- You're gains will skyrocket because you'll be able to move correctly. Makes sense eh?

What is Foam Rolling?

Foam rolling is a form of self-myofascial release (SMR) which essentially means breaking down and releasing tight muscle tissue. We all have tight tissue for one reason or another, whether it’s genetic, postural, the way we train, or a combination of these.

Foam rolling applies pressure to these tight areas – known as trigger points – and this pressure causes a release in tension and tightness.

Why Do You Need It?

These trigger points can cause several issues in the long run.

First up, they can be tight and painful, and that means you’re conscious of them when you train, so you may alter your form so that you don’t feel them. Altering form isn’t a great idea, as it can make you weaker or even cause injury.

Secondly, your mobility becomes limited, and you’ll find you might not be able to squat, bench or deadlift properly.

A final (and often overlooked) point is that a trigger point can restrict blood flow to a muscle, meaning that not only does it miss out on a full supply of oxygen as you’re training it, recovery and recuperation can also be compromised.