The 6 Very Best Foam Rolling Workouts to Try

Jennifer Larson
·6 min read

The best exercises to do with a foam roller, plus the top mistakes to avoid.

You probably have at least one athletic friend who’s devoted to foam rolling and has a steady stream of foam roller exercises on hand. But if you’ve never tried foam rolling yourself, you may not realize what you’re missing out on.

“It’s for any active person,” says Dr. Cedric Bryant, PhD, president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise (ACE). “It’s really for anyone who might be experiencing some stiffness and muscle discomfort.”

Foam rolling is basically what it sounds like: You take a cylindrical tube of compressed foam and roll it into your body to release tension from your muscles—or you can roll your body (and your aching muscles) onto the foam roller. According to ACE, foam rolling tends to be the most effective when you put a body part right on top of the foam roller and move against it to apply pressure the muscle and elastic connective tissue underneath.

It’s often called a “myofascial release technique” or (self-myofascial release) because it works on pain that arises from the fascial tissues, which are the tough connective tissues that wrap around and connect your muscles.

“Foam rolling is a great tool for improving range of motion, mobility and athletic performance,” says Keora Holt, master trainer for Crunch Fitness. “Depending on the pressure you apply and what your body can tolerate, it’s safe to do daily and is best used on soft tissue.”

What Type of Foam Roller To Use

You can use any type of foam roller, but you might find that some areas of your body require a harder roller that allows you to get a little deeper. “If the trigger point area is hard to hit with a regular foam roller, you might have to go with either a lacrosse ball or tennis ball to target those tight and hard-to-hit areas,” says Holt.

And whatever type of foam roller you choose, and whatever exercise you try, just remember this: “Be sure to listen to your body and avoid overdoing it,” says Bryant.

Related: Spend the Day Sitting At Your Computer? Show Your Glutes Some Love With These Simple Bridge Exercises

By the way, you don’t have to wait to foam roll after you exercise. It might also help you if you do it as part of your warm-up, according to ACE. Just make sure you only use it for a short period of time.

Foam Roller Exercises

You can try foam rolling on the following parts of your body:

Calves

If you have tight calves, it’s hard to get into a deep squat. Here’s how to address that. “Lay on the floor, butt down, and put one leg on top of the foam roller, hitting the calf,” says Holt. “Roll until you’ve found the most tender spot and hold that spot for 60 to 90 seconds. Hold and put pressure on it until your calf relaxes fully.”

Upper back

“Start by lying down with a foam roller on the middle top part of your back,” says Holt. “Find the most tender spot and hold for 60 seconds until the tension starts to dissipate. Keep hitting other areas within this part of your back until all points start to relax.”

Related: Want To Get A Full Body Workout At Home? Here Are 75 Actually Fun Ideas for Making It Happen

Tensor fasciae latae (TFL)

Targeting this muscle in the front of your hip can help if you tend to sit frequently and have tight hips or IT bands, Holt notes. This muscle actually connects to your IT band, so lie on your side, lean on your elbow, and put the foam roller under your hip. “Find the most tender spot and put pressure on this area for 60 to 90 seconds until the TFL has fully relaxed,” says Holt.

Lats

The latissimus dorsi muscle is a broad flat V-shaped muscle that connects your arms to your vertebral column, which helps to stabilize your spine. If you rotate your shoulders inward because your lats are tense, lie on your side and take a foam roller to the area under your armpit. You may need to roll around until you find the right trigger point, Holt notes. When you find the right spot, then you can put pressure on it for 60 seconds or so.

Chest

Don’t leave out your pectoralis major and minor, says Holt, if you want to open up your shoulders. It may be hard to use a regular foam roller on this area, so consider using a small ball instead. Lie face-down on the floor, with the ball on the middle or top part of one side of your chest. Hold until you start to feel the tension release.

Front of the shoulder

Lie down on your stomach, and put one arm behind the small of your back. Put a ball on the top front part of your shoulder and hold with pressure for 60-90 seconds Holt recommends.

Foam Rolling Mistakes To Avoid

You can have too much of a good thing, so avoid making these mistakes so you can get the most out of the whole foam rolling experience.

Don’t overdo it

Start slowly and build from there. “There’s always this more-is-better mentality, so people will try to use something that’s too dense that causes too much discomfort and pain, and it really doesn’t have the intended effect of helping to create the loosening and relaxing of that muscle fascia area,” adds Bryant.

Don’t neglect your trigger points

“The biggest mistake that people tend to make with foam rolling is they tend to roll up and down across the entire muscle while not spending enough time on a trigger point,” says Holt.

Related: How To Do the Superman Exercise, a Move That Will Tone You up and Improve Your Posture

Don’t roll over a joint

 You can injure a joint if you do this, so keep the foam roller on the muscle areas. “It’s really intended to be where you’re rolling over muscle because you’re trying to impact the muscle fascia,” explains Bryant.

Don’t forget to breathe

“If you can focus on your breathing when you’re in those uncomfortable spots, focus on inhaling and exhaling, that seems to help in terms of being able to manage it,” says Bryant.

Next up: How To Do the Pike Push-up

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