If you haven’t met our newest trainer Alyssa Daven, be sure to do so!! She rocks!! And don’t forget to check out our March special for personal training. Also, you may know the importance of cardio and strength training, but did you also know it’s very important to stretch and massage those muscles? Alyssa has written a guest post talking about foam rolling. If you haven’t done it you should definitely try it out! It’s a great way to get a massage for your tight muscles.

The ART of Foam Rolling

By: Alyssa Daven

Just under a year ago I was walking through my local Gold’s Gym and came across a 36″ cylindrical piece of foam lying on the exercise floor. This was not the first time I had seen one in a gym setting, but the first time I was truly curious as to what it could be and what on earth it could be doing in a gym. Was I supposed to work out with it in some way? Maybe it was just a decorative addition?

Since then, I have come to highly respect this simple piece of exercise machinery known as a Foam Roll and its “roll” in Active Release Therapy (ART). Foam rolling, in essence, is a deep tissue massage without the big price tag!

Background Information

Another term for foam rolling is Self-Myofascial Release. The fascia is a soft connective tissue that lies just below the skin. Fascia wraps and connects muscles, bones, nerves and even blood vessels of the body. Together, muscle and fascia make up the myofascial system. For many reasons including misuse, lack of routine stretching, or even injuries, the fascia and underlying muscle tissue can become bundled together. These bundles are known as adhesions, or better known today as “knots.” These knots cause muscle imbalances, which lead to restricted muscle movement, pain, soreness, and overall reduced flexibility or range of motion.

The Science Behind the ART of Foam Rolling

There is a specific science behind how these adhesions are released. I don’t want to throw out too many scientific or wordy phrases, but this science is the basis behind how stretching actually works. I think most will find this information useful.

When tension on a muscle increases, the GTO stimulates relaxation of that muscle in order to prevent tearing or pulling of that muscle. Muscle spindles [Read more...]