Should I Do Foam Roller Exercises

That's right, I didn't know what a foam roller was or what they were used for until my personal trainer did a class using them.

During one of our stretch classes, the trainer said we were going to do self massage with these big black things. I was kind of surprised but was willing to try something new.

I was beginning to see the value of a foam roller massage.

She sat us on the floor with our backs resting on a wall and told us to put the roller under one ankle and cross the other ankle over on top of that ankle for weight. I was wondering if I had just wasted a lot of money for this class.

She then told us to start moving the lower ankle from side to side and roll the foam roller up our calf a little at a time. Nothing was happening for me, some of the class members were saying that they were finding hot spots that were really sore. I figured I must be in good condition, and then it happened. I found a spot that was so sore it made me jump.

I worked on that spot for a couple of minutes until it felt better and then moved up my leg, BINGO, there was another spot, then another and I was still only on my first leg.

I continued up my first leg until I reached my knee, where I spent a lot of time massaging some very sore spots. I have sore knees most of the time, so I was very careful not to overdo the massaging.

Next, I worked up to my butt muscles, finding sore spots along the way.

At this point I was wishing I had a lot more time to work on my poor old body.

Our class then moved to the other leg and experienced the same results. I was really glad that our trainer was allowing us to spend this amount of time on our sore points.

Just when I thought we might be done, she told us to roll over onto our stomachs, put the roller under our quads and roll forward and back. Good grief, I thought I was going to scream out load. Talk about finding out the condition of your muscles.

From there it was onto our backs, arms and any other muscle you can think of.

I was shocked at how good I felt after spending 45 minutes on this self massage. It was as if I had been to a massage parlor and had a professional massage my entire body.

What's the old expression, "I felt loose as a goose"

I realized just how much benefit I could receive from a half hour of self massage using a foam roller and the great way my body felt after a session.

Since I regularly vist the fitness center, I made a decision to commit some time each week to this type of exercise. This was a very good decision on my part and I am happy each day that I made it.

Now, my weekly exercise schedule includes at least one session a week in a stretch class that includes foam roller exercises. I participate in some structured classes with a trainer and often I will work out on a roller on my own.

I am now thinking that it would be really helpful to have a couple of different types of foam rollers at home so I could work out the kinks when my body felt the need.

I feel that a soft one and a more solid one will do the trick and give me the variety I am looking for.

In all the hubs that I have created that pertain to exercise I have stressed the need to get some sort of training before using the equipment.

I am going to say the same thing for the foam exercise rollers. I feel that it is best to get some information before you begin using the rollers to avoid injury or developing problems where there were none.

Now training could be from a personal trainer at a gym or a video on YouTube. No matter which way you decide to go, make sure you read all the warnings that are on the products and check a few websites for information.

During our training session with the trainer, she guides us on exactly where to place the roller on our bodies and how much pressure to apply to a sore spot. There are many websites and videos available that can guide you in the use of the rollers.

Now that I have had a few sessions with my trainer, I feel comfortable in doing the movements on my own. I was afraid that I would aggravate my artificial hip or bad knees if I didn't know what I was doing. My trainer made certain that I only did what was safe for my body. Because of this I recommend some form of training, in person or on the web.

As I said before, until my trainer started our class using rollers, I had no idea what they were. I certainly had no idea where to buy them or what sizes they came in.

I began to look on-line and in stores and guess what? You can get them in hundreds of places.

You can get them:

• at your local fitness center or gym
• on line at Amazon
• at WalMart or other big box stores
• at a sports store in your town

I guess I never noticed them before I started using them and now I see rollers every where.

There are foam roller exercise classes at vitually every fitness center, local gym and even in some Yoga studios. Who knew!

I am amazed at how much benefit you can get from such an inexpensive piece of equipment.