Foam rolling

Benefits of Lying on the Foam Roller

Fitness, foam rolling, Injury prevention, Posture

  

Proper spinal alignment:Most people work in seated position all day, destroying our posture. This affects everything including our health, our recovery, our performance and poor posture can change your appearance of your frame. 

Lying on the foam roller repositions the spine to the position it should be in and can assist with correcting forward head posture and kyphosis (too much rounding in your upper back). If you work on a computer, you likely have some of these issues. 
Spinal decompression 

This is important for the person hunched over a computer all day as well as someone who loads his/her spine with a heavy barbell. It decompresses the spine and improves functioning of the nerves that come out of the spinal column. This can improve performance. 

 By identifying the tight muscles and the weaker muscles in your body, you can develop an appropriate stretch and strengthening routine to correct your posture and reduce your risk of injury.

Upper Body Foam Rolling 

Fitness, foam rolling, health
Upper Body Foam Rolling
Watch the video on my Instagram page: @kiz489 Upper body foam rolling video
– Thoracic – trapezius/rhomboid:
Gently lay over the foam roller placed direct under your mid back. With arms crossed and feet firmly on the ground, lift your hips shifting your body weight onto the roller and gently roll back and forth from the top of your shoulders to the bottom of your rib cage. If you find and tight, sore spots, hold there for a few seconds then continue rolling.
– Latissimus Dorsi:
Start under armpit in side lying, gentle apply your body weight over roller and start with small arm movements side to side. Work up to shifting your weight over the roller, moving the roller up and down the side of your body. This is a very tender area.. Take it easy!
– Pectoralis: 
As above, gently lay over roller but lying on your stomach. You will require the roller on an angle and right under the shoulder and arm pit. Gently lay over it and apply down body weight. Gently move your arm in a windscreen wiper motion. When you can build up to it, lift your body and gently roll over the pec. Can be very tender, so be gentle!
– Spine, Supine lying- chest stretch & spinal decompression:
Using a long roller, gently sit at the end of the roller so your lower back makes contact, slowly lay back so all of your back is on the roller and your head is resting on it also. When you have your balance, stretch your arms out to the side with palms facing up. You may notice an arch in your back and tightness I your chest. You can stay here for as long as you like. I recommend a minimum of 5min. You will notice the arch decreases and the chest tightness will decrease.
Continued on from lower body foam rolling post..
 
The function of Fascia is to give our body structure. Imagine strings in a tennis racquet. A pull or tightness will change the way the entire structure is functioning.
Fascial  dysfunction can:
– crowd or pull joints
– create abnormal strain patterns
– poor alignment
– nerve entrapment
How to treat fascial dysfunction?
– stretches
– direct pressure
– Myofascial release (foam rolling/spikey ball)
– superficial & deep tissue massage
Myofascia is the fascia outside or around the muscle. Myofascial release can take 3-5 min for fascia to release. Can take minimum of 90 seconds for fascial network to respond to foam rolling/spikey ball. Be gentle & take your time, if you experience pins & needles, hot, shooting pain, stop!
 For any questions, follow my Facebook page Kiz Fitness and Health
Happy Easter x

Lower Body Foam Rolling

Fitness, foam rolling, health

Lower Body Foam Rolling
Video is posted on my Instagram page @kiz489 if you wish to view.

Spend 90 seconds on each area and return to a tight or “sore” spot, which are called Trigger Points. The causes of Trigger points can be:
• Overuse injury, strain
• Inflammation
• Stress
• Prolonged immobility
• Hormonal or nutritional imbalance
• Poor posture.
There is a lot of information on Myofascial Release if you are interested in learning more..
Try these basic lower limb Myofascial releases with a foam roller.
– Hamstring into calf
– Glutes
– Quads
– ITB (iliotibial band)
For deeper releases you can use a spikey ball, especially getting into the hamstrings to increase flexibility.
You can feel a little yuck after foam rolling, so be sure to drink lots of water after to flush the toxins you have released from the muscle into the bloodstream.