(Mis)adventures in Foam Rolling

I have a new toy.

Well, not so much a toy as an instrument of torture.

A foam roller.

I bought it a week ago, but it’s only just made it out of the packaging. And within a minute (no word of a lie – literally less than 60 seconds had passed) I had managed to get peanut butter on it.

Note to self – don’t eat peanut butter and unpack fitness equipment at the same time.

Anyway, the foam roller. I’ve had a niggle in my calf. Sore enough to stop me running, and sore enough to drag me into the dark and masochistic world of foam rolling.

The foam roller is a piece of kit of which I have little experience. And by very little I mean none. I’ve heard plenty about it though, and most of these stories involve reports of self-inflicted pain.

The foam roller is used to relieve tension and tightness in muscles, and acts as a dynamic form of stretching. As running is a repetitive movement it’s easy for the muscles to feel sore afterwards, so anything that eases the tightness and soothes the soreness has to be worth a try. Even if it does hurt in the short-term.

After a bit of research I purchased a Pro-Fitness 3-in-1 Foam Roller. A fairly cheap and cheerful (pfft!) option from Argos.

Now as far as using the roller itself goes, I’m reasonably satisfied.

However.

The instruction leaflet directed me to the “included DVD” which “shows a variety of exercises that you can perform with the 3-in-1 Foam Roller”.

There is no DVD.

And the 3-in-1 roller? Well the centre roller doesn’t actually come out from the rest of the damn thing. As I write this my husband is battling with the little pull handle, trying to free the innermost roller from its captor. So essentially, it’s 2-in-1.

And as an aside – the quality of the instructions is… poor. Espercially* the spelling.

*If you have noticed the extra R, I have lifted this spelling directly from the instructions.

Ahem. I’ll put my inner-pedant back in her box.

Back to the roller.

I have rolled. It wasn’t too painful. I shall roll again.

Tomorrow I’ll attempt to run again. Fingers crossed!

PS. As ever, every penny helps. If you forgo a coffee from a high street barista this week and donate the money to VICTA instead, they'll be able to continue the excellent work they do supporting blind and partially sighted children. In the words of Mrs. Doyle, "Go on, go on, go on, go on, GO ON!" :) 

Donate now!