Most runners think that the foam roller is useful only after running. However, the foam rollers can also be used before training. In this case it would be a brief, light session, to increase the elasticity of the tissues, the range of movement and the blood circulation. Using the foam roller a little before training will relax the muscles and help them move better during the training session, which can prevent injuries. You can click here and come up with the best deals there.
The use of foam roller after exercise serves to facilitate recovery. In this case, you have to focus on the muscles that have worked mostly with special attention to the most critical points. As I have written previously, the increase in blood flow to tired muscles leads to a greater supply of nutrients and oxygen, which significantly reduces the time needed for recovery.
There is nothing that can replace the wise hands of a sports masseuse, but foam roller can help a lot. In addition to using it before and after training, it can be used as a daily routine or two or three times a week, as we do, away from active training sessions.
How to choose the best massage roller?
Foam roller is made of different materials and have different shapes. You have to be attentive to both factors to choose one that, for example, does not have too many surface shapes or is too hard because its use could be an unpleasant experience.
What size should a foam roller have? What form of a foam roller is the best? Should the foam roller be hard?
There are four main features of foam rollers that we have to evaluate when buying a foam roller.
The surface shape
We can also find different shapes on the surface. There are smooth surfaces, with points, with squares, with small pyramids or we can find surfaces that combine all the previous ones. The shape and size of the foam roller will determine how we will use it.
Foam roller hardness
The foam roller is presented with different degrees of hardness, say density, although it is not entirely correct.
Foam roller hardness
Hardness is the first element that we have to evaluate since the harder it is in the roller, the more effective the deep massage will be. A too soft foam roller could apply little pressure without any massage effect, that is, useless, while a too hard foam roller could accentuate the pain and be counterproductive.
If you are starting in the wonderful world of the foam roller, better start with the one that is soft but not too much to habituate the muscles to this type of massage. When you get used to it you can move on to a harder foam roller and exert more pressure on the trigger points.
Another very important factor related to the hardness of the foam roller is that the hard roller keeps its characteristics for a longer time, that is, they last longer. The softer rollers lose consistency and decrease their effectiveness sooner.
In any case, the advice is that you do not choose a foam roller too cheap, better to spend something more and have a good product that lasts as long as possible.
Foam roller surface shapes
Some foam roller has tips, grooves, or different types of shapes that serve to apply different intensities of pressure and perform a more or less deep massage, or on the contrary more delicate at some specific points.