Do It Right With Denise - How To Use A Foam Roller

I’m a big believer in soothing tight muscles, especially when you have been exercising extra hard, which is one reason I am going to talk about how to use a foam roller! It’s not always easy to find the time or the budget to make a massage happen. That's why a foam roller is a wonderful alternative to soothe your knotted muscles, helping to smooth them out and give yourself a treat.

Using a foam roller has numerous benefits:

• Foam rolling helps your body by intensely massaging the muscles, much like a massage from a therapist at a spa.
• It can be done on your own, saving you the cost of paying for a massage. My how to use a foam roller tips below will help you get started!
• You can do it whenever you want - including right before bed, helping to soothe away any tightness you are feeling. You can't do that with a scheduled massage!
• A foam roller can help you de-stress and release tension, and increase your blood flow and flexibility - a win-win all around!

Of course, strengthening our 640 muscles of the body is important (that's where my Whole Body Plan can help!), but if you don’t stretch enough your muscles can get tight! Foam rolling can be thought of as “ironing out the wrinkles” of your muscles. Loosening up your muscles pre- and post-workout results is an effective routine that will help you achieve your goals even faster. Rolling out your muscles leads to increased flexibility and range of motion, which will improve your overall fitness level and reduce the risk of potential injury.

Foam rolling is like muscle therapy giving our muscles just the attention they need. Check out this video on how to use a foam roller:

And here are a couple of quickie moves to try:

1. For tight hip and buttock muscles: Lie down on your side with your foot elevated off the floor. Place the foam roller underneath your thigh and roll up and down, repeating for 30 seconds on each side. Soothe away soreness and tension.
2. For back tension: Lie down with your back on the floor. Place a foam roller underneath your upper back, then cross your arms in front of you. Raise your hips off of the ground, placing your body weight onto the roller between your shoulder blades. Shift your weight to one side, rolling up and down the upper to mid back to lower back. You can focus the attention on one section of your back, wherever your body needs it most. Alternate sides and repeat for 30 seconds per side. It feels soooo good!

A few minutes of rolling out a day will keep you feeling young for years to come. Get more healthy tips when you start your free trial of my Whole Body Plan - you will love it!!

Let's get fitter, together - inside and out!

Denise

How To Use A Foam Roller To Relax And Recover

Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Denise Austin. I'm an advocate for living a healthy and happy life, and today I'd love to show you ways that you could relax and recover with the foam roller. First for your back, your spine. Lie back and really feel the stretch and the massaging of your back. Great for the muscles, especially around your scapula that get tight. You could go all the way up to your neck. Feels, oh my gosh, it feels so good. And now for my legs, I love to work my thighs and really stretch it out and work it out. It feels so good. It's really getting the muscles nice and loosened, no more tight muscles, no more knots in your neck and back or legs. And then my other favorite is for the calf muscles. Oh, just cross your leg over here like that. Oh my gosh. Feels so good. It's so good for you. It's excellent for circulation too. All of these little ways to make you feel better because you are worth it.