Pure Joy: Have you heard of foam rollers?

I hadn’t until I went to physical therapy. Now I think they are the best thing ever. When I did an internship in a physical therapy clinic, I learned that a MANY injuries are caused because of muscle tightness. Often, people don’t even realize how stinkin’ tight they are… I certainly didn’t until I began using one of these! Seriously, if you have never done it, you need to try. You will not believe how amazing your body feels after using a foam roller. Those tight muscles are not good for your body and can even lead to serious injuries!

You can find foam rollers online or from a physical therapy clinic near you. The black roller is more dense than the white color, so it is a little more difficult. Please let me know if you have ANY questions.

I am going to show you how to do three foam roller exercises for the lower body. I do these every morning after my workout. Please excuse the lack of professional quality photos ;-) *One warning… if you do have tight muscles, this is going to be painful the first few times! Don’t let that discourage you, as your muscles loosen up it won’t hurt at all!*

1. Foam Roller for Gastrocnemius (Calf Muscle)

Begin with the roller right above your ankle, one leg crossed over the other. Lift your bottom off the ground, supporting yourself with your arms. Using your arms to move you, roll the foam roller to right below your knee and back down to your ankle. Be sure not to roll over the knee joint! Repeat 5-7 times. Switch to the other side.

2. Foam Roller for Iliotibial Tract (Side of thigh)

Lie with the roller below your hip. Using your arms to pull you, roll down to right above the knee and back to your hip, being careful not to roll over your knee joint. Repeat 5 times and switch to the other side.

3. Foam Roller for Quads

Lie with foam roller under your upper thigh. Using your arms to move you, roll down to above the knee joint and back. Once again, do not go over the joint! Repeat 5-7 times. If you’d like to stretch your hamstrings (not shown), flip over and do it on the backs of your leg (don’t go over the knee joint!).