NicoleI’ve made it public recently that I’m working on becoming more consistent with my evening routine, and part of that routine includes foam rolling.
I’m one of those “chronically tight” athletes. I’ve never been flexible, and have a tendency towards overuse injuries. In fact, I did a DNA test last year from DNAex and my susceptibility to injury was ranked pretty high. The reviewer of my data said it was almost the worst they’ve seen.
(Note: genetic testing just gives you likelihoods based on statistics of populations, not a definitive result, but if you are interested in being tested, check out my resources page for additional more info. )
I agree with that assessment on my susceptibility to soft tissue injuries based on my personal experience during the last decade of training and racing. I’ve slacked off and didn’t listen to my body and have and ending up in physical therapy and even surgery that set me back significantly. [Huge Tip: Always listen to your body, even if it means modifying a workout or stopping all together!] The bottom line for me is that in order to perform my best, I have to be extremely diligent with my warm-up, cool down, and recovery process.
As I haven’t been as focused as I should be with part of my recovery plans lately, I’m making a point to get back at it. This is why I need you all to help hold me accountable to my evening routine!
I will say a few years ago when I was training for IRONMAN Arizona, I spent about 30 minutes foam rolling and stretching right before bed, and I noticed a big difference in how I felt. So it’s time to get back at it! This time with new tools – the Rumble Roller and the Beastie.
Over the next few weeks, as you all help hold me accountable to that routine, I’ll be making notes on how the Rumble Roller is working for me. I have both the blue and black (varying density) versions of these foam rollers, a regular black foam roller that is several years old but still pretty dense, and “The Beastie,” which is an evil-looking massage ball part of the Rumble Roller product line.
The Basic Plan
In my foam-rolling time window, I’ll alternate upper body focus one day, lower body focus the next. I’ll be hitting the major muscle groups with the rollers, and using the Beastie and tennis and lacrosse balls to get into tough spots.
- The lower body routine will hit the quads, adductors, abductors, calves, hamstrings, and glutes.
- The upper body routine will get my lats, rhomboids, pecs, and triceps.
- I’ll spend about 20 minutes foam rolling each evening, followed by 10 minutes of stretching those major muscles with some basic yoga poses.
I’ll log what I do each day (you heard it!) and report back in a couple weeks.
Do you have a specific recovery routine? Share it with us in the comments below!
Nicole
