by Annie Vischer
Read this, try it out, and you’ll thank us. Foam rolling used to be the secret of athletes, trainers and physios, but now the technique is out of the bag. The procedure’s fiddly name is self-myofascial release. You can crack that one out at dinner parties to seem brilliantly well informed if you like.
It’s effectively the fancy word for a DIY massage that releases muscle tension in trigger points. One of the increasingly popular pieces of kit available now to aid your DIY massage, or self-myofascial release, is a foam roller.
Being able to do this will help your body to be able to recover after exercise, increase your circulation and flexibility. Win, win right?
Our favourite foam roller has to be The Grid from Trigger Point (£35.00). This one came specially recommended by Lee Mullins the founder of Workshop Gymnasium. As you can see above, I even managed to match mine to my trainers (to keen?).
For more information on foam rolling, and for videos of exercises and techniques, visit the Trigger Point YouTube channel here.
I keep mine at home to tease out any knots and tightness I’ve gathered in my shoulders and back whilst typing away at my desk all day, and take it to the gym to make it part of my warm-up and cool-down routines.