Foam Rolling Part 3: When and How To Foam Roll

Foam Rolling Part 3: When and How To Foam Roll

Always, always, always stick to rolling your muscles, rather than ligaments like your IT band or joints like your knees or elbows, says Polly de Mille, R.N., C.S.C.S., director of performance services at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. You should also skip your lower back. “If you foam roll your lower back, it could cause the muscles surrounding [the vertebrae] to go into spasm,” he says. “The risk really outweighs the potential reward” since this part of your spine is pretty nonmobile anyway since it is used for stability, rather than mobility.

Stick to your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, traps, and lats. You can lightly roll the meat of your shoulders, but should avoid the actual joint. Same with your arms and elbows. For best results, de Mille suggests adhering to a near-daily rolling strategy. After all, just like all things exercise, you have to be consistent to get the best results. Lewis J. Macgregor, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist and lead author of the University of Stirling, similarly notes that the effects of foam rolling seem to be short-lived, so rolling today won’t necessarily help you next week. Aim to roll before and after workouts, or just any time you’re feeling tight.

Studies suggest spending 30 seconds on each spot you want to roll. If you have more time to dedicate to it, The same studies suggest doing three sets of 30 seconds, with 10 seconds of rest in between, on each muscle group you’re trying to target. During those bouts, de Mille recommends dividing the muscle that you’re rolling into three segments: bottom, middle, and top. Give each section a few passes, move onto the next one, and then after having hit each of them, polish things off by giving the entire length of your muscle some more love.

At the end of the day, remember that just like any other workout recovery method, foam rolling should be used as a tool to help you feel better during and after workouts. That means that you can and should tweak your rolling habits to whatever works best for you. So don’t stress about sticking to a strict schedule—start with rolling when you feel like you need it or simply when you have time, and take it from there depending on what feels right.

Have a great weekend and reach out if you all have any questions!

Go SMAC!

Julian