Foam Roller Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Stretching, Strengthening and Rehabilitative Techniques

By Karl Knopf

Master the incredible versatility of the foam roller with this full-color, step-by-step guide to end pain, regain range of motion, and prevent injury.

With this helpful full-color guide, you can learn how to use your foam roller to remediate muscle strain caused by everything from sitting long hours at your desk to overdoing it at the gym. In addition, special programs will enhance your sporting life, whether you hit the track, the court or the slopes.

Designed to improve your posture, balance and muscle tone, each exercise is carefully explained and includes step-by-step color photos to guarantee you do it right and gain the maximum benefits, including:

• Increase Flexibility
• Release Tension
• Alleviate Chronic Pain
• Rehabilitate Injury
• Improve Core Strength
• Break Up Knots

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jan 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781612438863

Karl Knopf

Dr. Karl Knopf has been involved in the health and fitness of older adults and the disabled for more than forty years. During this time he has worked in almost every aspect of the industry, from personal training and therapy to consultation. While at Foothill College, Karl was the coordinator of the Adaptive Fitness Technician Program and Lifelong Learning Institute. He taught disabled students and undergraduates about corrective exercise. In addition to teaching, Karl developed the “Fitness Educators of Older Adults Association” to guide trainers of older adults. Currently Karl is a director at the International Sports Science Association and is on the advisory board of PBS’s Sit and Be Fit show. In his spare time he has spoken at conferences, authored many articles, and written numerous books on topics ranging from water workouts to fitness therapy. He was a frequent guest on both radio and print media on issues pertaining to senior fitness and the disabled.

Book preview

PART 1

Getting Started

Introduction to Foam Rolling

We see many claims about fitness tools but they often don’t live up to the hype when reviewed by experts. Numerous claims have been made that foam rolling increases blood flow, is useful in warming up the muscle prior to exercise, and assists in post-exercise recovery. A study reported in the respected Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research determined that foam rolling is worth the effort: Areas massaged with the foam roller saw increased arterial blood flow. The foam roller lives up to the claims; it is a useful tool that should be part of your exercise tool belt.

Foam rollers were once used exclusively in a physical therapy setting. Dr. Moshé Feldenkrais is credited with being the first person to use rollers for therapeutic purposes (for instance, improving body alignment, reducing muscle tightness, teaching body awareness) in the late 1950s. Foam rollers have been used by a variety of clients with conditions ranging from multiple sclerosis to common orthopedic concerns. The beauty of the foam roller is that it can be used by almost everyone.

Research has shown that stretching, relaxation, meditation, foam rolling, and biofeedback techniques all ease muscle tension, which contributes to pain and common muscle stiffness. A massage is a favorite method of stretching and relaxing tight muscles. It enhances functional range of motion, aids in the healing process, decreases muscle reflex activity, inhibits motor-neuron excitability, and contributes to relaxation. However, not many people can afford a daily or weekly massage session. A regular foam roller session can provide many of the benefits same benefits as and prolong the benefits of a massage while adding diversity and challenge to your standard exercise program.

Designing a balanced exercise routine that includes flexibility movements with strength training, cardiovascular exercise, and relaxation can reduce chronic discomfort and stress. Since foam rollers break up interwoven muscle fibers and help move oxygenated blood into those muscles, they’re an excellent device with which to release tight spots in the muscles (the technical term is myofascial release) and return the muscles to a more optimal state. This can be done prior to exercising to improve range of motion, after a workout, or during a break at work to relax tight muscles and reduce soreness from sitting too long.

Why Use Foam Rollers?

While a good massage feels great, the results are often fleeting. For the price of one massage, you can buy a foam roller and get the kinks out daily. The research shows that using a foam roller regularly can improve blood flow and release tension in stiff muscles. (This is not to say that a foam roller session is better than a therapeutic massage; the foam roller is, however, a nice adjunct to a massage.)

The human body is designed in a remarkable manner and, if well maintained, will function efficiently for a very long time. Unfortunately, all too often we misuse or abuse our bodies, perhaps through activities of daily living or overuse. Whether you’re highly active or sedentary, we all can benefit from a few minutes of light stretching and relaxation every day. A gentle, daily dose of movement keeps the joints lubricated and limber—motion is lotion.

More and more research in the field of exercise science shows that many of our chronic health issues can be positively influenced with corrective exercise. A former chief of orthopedics at Stanford University’s School of Medicine once told me, Modern medicine can do remarkable things, but we are nowhere close to rebuilding the human machine as well as the original equipment we were born with.

In today’s world of hustle and bustle, we all need practical ways to recover from the stresses of work and play. No one doubts the restorative benefits of sleep, but other options exist as well, such as massage and compression garments, which help improve circulation. But right along with these options is self-myofascial release (SMR), which can be done with a foam roller. SMR is becoming a cost-effective method for enhancing mobility, flexibility, and post-exercise recovery. Some sports science experts suggest that it is an effective method for improving range of motion in athletes without interfering with performance. It is believed that the improved circulation afforded by SMR assists with removing metabolic byproducts, such as lactate accumulation. Another benefit of the foam roller is that it is a nice method for re-setting your posture. Simply lying on the roller from head to toe and performing mindful breathing, gently rocking from left to right, offers a sense of relaxation.

Advantages of Foam Rolling

The basic premise of foam rolling is that it loosens the fascia, a type of connective tissue, which can become trapped and lead to hypersensitive trigger points along the muscle and connective tissue. This often presents itself as a loss of flexibility, pain and discomfort, and decreased performance. By applying pressure to the area with the

Reviews for Foam Roller Workbook

[deldevries · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

well organized and illustrated. Nicely separated into functional use by sport and body area.