3 Reasons Why We Love Foam Rollers

Not just for sadists (if you’ve used one, you’ll know what I mean), our cylindrical, sometimes knobbly little friends which you find in the stretching area of the gym are fast becoming a firm favourite of ours.

We first came across them at a fitness convention way back in 2013 when we were subject to quite possibly one of the best core workouts we’ve ever done – you know the type when you’re afraid to cough, sneeze or err, get up out of bed.

Never ones to get sucked in by a sales pitch (okay, okay. It was 7pm on a Sunday night after a VERY intense 3 days of exercise and heavy learning. We were so exhausted we’d have bought anything – they certainly knew how to time it right) we headed home with our new toy under our arms.

Fast forward 5 years and what we thought might fall into the ‘fitness fad’ hole, along with slender tone belts and ab cradles (remember them?) are well and truly here to stay and we for one, couldn’t be happier. This is one bandwagon we were more than happy to jump on.

Here are our 3 reasons why we won’t be rolling off ours any time soon…

1. You can iron out your knots

By rolling and applying pressure to your muscles and fascia (connective tissue), you can simulate the same effect as a deep tissue massage.

If you’re feeling tight, or have niggles or ‘knots’, the pressure helps to release trigger points and break down any knots or tightness you feel.

2. It can help strengthen your core

Anything which makes you unstable will fire up your core muscles and get them working. What better way to add instability than putting your feet/body/arms on a giant rolling pin?

There are loads of things you can do to combine the muscle rolling (above) with core work, so you get more bang for your buck. For starters, take a look at this page which has 5 great moves to get you going.

3. It can get you fixed faster

By applying pressure to damaged tissues, you will boost your blood flow and circulation to the tissues. As your blood carries all the goodies your body needs to recover (oxygen, nutrients) you will flood it with goodness.

Another significant effect of increased circulation is the removal of the harmful stuff. Think of flushing out toxins and lactic acid, the latter being the stuff which causes the pain the next day, so the better you roll, the less sore you’ll feel afterwards. You’re welcome.

Oh, and a bonus fourth thing – it’s portable and (after a small initial investment, they’re not expensive) free! If you buy your own you can use it anywhere, any time.

So, there you have it. Now that you also love foam rollers, why not get one of your own? We have plenty in stock and much more equipment (and even clothes) for you to choose from!