Foam Rolling = Dark Magic

So what’s the concensus. Typical foam roller, or “the stick”.

I use the stick and wondering if it would be a worthy investment for a foam roller.

Thanks.

Personally, I’d go with a length of PVC pipe. It’s cheap and doesn’t lose its form, like some of the foam rollers.

A stick is handy - I’ve got one - but I only use it occasionally.

my lazy ass needs to start foam rolling regularly again

I’d go with foam roller to start with, then when it’s worn out (i.e. it dips in the middle) you’ve probably done enough work to be ready for a PVC pipe. I didn’t like the stick as much myself. As for a lacrosse ball: you crazy bugger, that must hurt like hell. I’m gonna go get one!

[quote]al38 wrote:
If you think it hurts with a PVC pipe, wait till you try it with a lacrosse ball . . . .[/quote]

if you think it hurts with a lacrosse ball…

[quote]WormwoodTheory wrote:

[quote]al38 wrote:
If you think it hurts with a PVC pipe, wait till you try it with a lacrosse ball . . . .[/quote]

if you think it hurts with a lacrosse ball…[/quote]

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2008/more/01/14/pistorius.olympics/pistorius.jpg
I never have any problems with tight calves after trying that.

heres a great routine if you have ankle/foot pain

circuits of various order of the following:
-calf stretch
-tibialis stretch
-standing on a baseball/tennis ball
-put your leg up on a table or something you can stretch your hamstring on and roll you calf on a ball on that (having your leg up high really helps to increase pressure) hit the whole posterior lower leg

then
ankle mobility drills

  • the standard one
  • maybe some ones on different planes
    hops on either foot
    one legged squats, but with the following rule:
  • keep your big toe extended up the whole time. you will see how this helps when you try it.

basically a lot of foot pain is because the posterior capsule is too tight, around the tibialis post. and soleus, it wont let you rock your ankle foreward all the way when you run or walk. Just because you have the passive range of motion does not mean that it will use that ROM when moving. you need to get the tibialis anterior AND the toe extensors stronger, much like cross syndrome with the hip flexors and glutes. If its too tight and inhibited to allow enough ankle motion, you still need to get that movement from somewhere, and usually what happens is that the arch collapses, lengthening and irritating the plantar fascia.

bodybuilders and weight lifters usually wont pay much attention to the tissue quality of their lower legs, but it can really fuck you up. I went from 130lbs to 210lbs in 3 years without doing much running whatsoever, all of my foot problems just got worse and worse from all the extra weight until I started doing the things described above.

I don’t know if foam rolling did it… but the past 4 months my squat felt worse then it ever has before. I felt weaker then I was last year and struggled to get the reps… past three weeks I’ve gotten back into foam rolling regularly. Holy shit… that’s the only thing I’ve changed and I’m way above anything I though I was capable of with my squat.

Does anyone have any similar experiences for shoulders? I’ve been working on one of mine for awhile, but haven’t quite made got it to where it needs to be.

lacrosse balls are good for traveling and calf work oohh man

Softballs. FTW.

Seriously need to jump back into foam rolling…if you don’t have a love/hate relationship with it you’re doing it wrong :slight_smile:

So what time of the day do you guys prefer to roll your quads for example?

When you wake up?
Before training legs?
After Training legs?
The night before going to bed, after training legs?
Just whatever day?

Yeah, I’m bumping this.

[quote]Exci wrote:
So what time of the day do you guys prefer to roll your quads for example?

When you wake up?
Before training legs?
After Training legs?
The night before going to bed, after training legs?
Just whatever day?[/quote]

I generally do it after I lift, like immediately after I finish stretching … ooo it hurts so goooood

I tried rolling with my sofa (I know right…), and I obviously felt lot of pain in side mid area, but the thing is, I felt the pain transfering towards the knee too, not just the muscle area. Did I hit a nerve or something?

[quote]Exci wrote:
So what time of the day do you guys prefer to roll your quads for example?

When you wake up?
Before training legs?
After Training legs?
The night before going to bed, after training legs?
Just whatever day?[/quote]

This might not work for everyone but I have a lot of luck rolling after I workout when I’m still warm.

[quote]stuntmonkeys wrote:

[quote]Big_Boss wrote:

[quote]tdubs wrote:
has anybody used one of the hand-held roller devices? it’s called ‘the stick’, or something similar? i saw Joe DeFranco use one in one of his videos… anybody had a good/bad experience with them?[/quote]

I have one…use it primarily for calves. Works very well after 10min of jumping rope. [/quote]

In my experience it doesn’t get as deep as the foam rollers (and I got the stiffest stick). Another nice feature of the stick, though, is that you can put one end in the corner of a room, hold the other end of your shoulder and work your traps quite well.[/quote]

Just to provide a contrary opinion, I have had the exact opposite experience. I love my stick [insert joke here], and definitely noticed a difference - in performance, not just tightness - when I misplaced it one week. I swear by it and cant recommend it highly enough.

I’ve never had much success foam rolling, seems more like a balancing act than anything else. When I try rolling my hamstrings, I wind up with all the weight on my hands, not because putting weight on my hamstring hurts, but because how else do you roll with it? That’s nothing compared to the IT band, tho, trying to walk your hands back and forth in a side plank position - how the hell do you guys do it?

[quote]Tbowling wrote:
Does anyone have any similar experiences for shoulders? I’ve been working on one of mine for awhile, but haven’t quite made got it to where it needs to be. [/quote]

IME, shoulders are worked better with a tennis/lacrosse/softball than with a foam roller. You can get good results even applying finger pressure on soft spots; just check this site to get started: http://www.triggerpoints.net/