These Fab Foam Rollers Will Help You Get Your Best Stretch Ever

If you're like me, there's a high chance you have a love/hate relationship with working out. Let me guess: you push through with the help of a 2000s hits playlist and then pat yourself on the back no matter how bad the 30-minute YouTube workout kicked your ass, right? And I bet by the time you're done, all you want to do is shower off the sweat and return to your beloved couch. Trust me, I get it. But whether you're a gym rat or a wannabe-couch-potato, you really shouldn't be skipping out on those crucial post-workout stretches. (Or pre-workout stretches, for that matter!) A little stretching can be the difference between desperately reaching for two Tylenol the day after a workout and feeling like a gold medal athlete. Wanna get the best stretch ever? You gotta add a foam roller to your routine, my friends.

These cylindrical bbs can do serious wonders for the body through a form of myofascial release (a type of physical therapy used in massage to target pain), explains performance coach Keith Hodges (CPT), founder of Los Angeles-based Mind In Muscle Coaching. Foam rolling prior to training has “been proven to reduce trigger point sensitivity, improve blood circulation and range of motion when combined with mobility (active stretching) exercises,” he explains. That means normal stretching combined with post-workout rolling can help ya recover faster—and there's nothing we love more than saving time.

You should also know that it’s not just fitness fanatics and pro-athletes who can enjoy the benefits of foam rolling. If you spend most of your days tethered to a laptop and desk (it's me, hi) or are required to stand for hours on end at work, then you're likely all too familiar with that tense feeling that can creep up come 3 pm. “The entire population can benefit, especially those individuals who work jobs in which they will be sitting for long periods of time,” says Hodges. “People who do manual labor can benefit from foam rolling as well. This can lead to an improvement in their work performance and decrease risk of injury on the job.” Sold, baby, sold!

Basically, if you're not foam rolling already, it's about damn time to get your booty in gear. To help get you rolling (lol, sry), I rounded up some of the best foam rollers on the market and outlined what to look for when shopping. Take a quick peek here before we get into the nitty gritty details on each:

See anything you like? Just look down—you can thank me later when you're feeling limber AF.