Foam rolling and other soft tissue techniques have been a staple in our programming for years. Foam rolling has caught on to the masses in recent times. You may even see them in big box gyms now.
At First Capital Gym, we instruct our members and athletes to use the roller to find tender areas or trigger points and to roll these areas to decrease density and over-activity of the muscle. For most cases, these trigger points are easy to find. Sometimes you have to manipulate the roller to find them.
Some of the key areas that we roll are:
Calves
IT Band
Hamstrings & Quads
Upper Back
Glutes
Check out how we foam roll right here:
Depending on the type of person (weight, muscle density, etc), different styles of foam rolls can be used. Some foam rolls are soft while others are more dense. In some cases, we will even use The Stick.
The foam roll is NOT a substitute for physical therapy or if you have severe soft tissue restrictons. In these cases, Active Release Therapy, Graston, or even Rolfing may be your best bet.
At First Capital Gym, we use it as part of our warm up and before all flexibility and mobility drills. We also recommend our members doing it to speed up the recovery process after hard bouts of training.
If you have any questions about foam rolling or any of our programs, contact us at www.firstcapitalgym.com or call us at 717-668-8902