Why Foam Rolling is Important for Runners
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Many foam rollers spend their time gathering dust in our living rooms. However, if we all knew the benefits of foam rolling for our running performance, then we would all carve out a bit of time from our busy schedules to spend some time on the foam roller.
What is foam rolling?
Foam rolling is a self-myofascial release technique for runners that can help improve performance, recovery, and decrease the risk of injury. This self-massage technique is a cost-effective way for runners to get some of the benefits of a sports massage.
Many runners use foam rolling as a way to warm-up their muscles before running or to help them to recover afterward.
What are the benefits of foam rolling for runners?
Foam rolling to be a tedious task, however the benefits regular foam rolling make it a very worthwhile exercise.
1) Improved recovery
One study found that foam rolling reduces delayed onset muscle soreness. This means you can decrease the amount of time it takes you to recover after a hard session, therefore, your body will be better prepared for your next workout.
As important as it is to train well, it's during our recovery that we make the improvements. If we recover better then we will adapt better from the training we are doing, and this leads to us running faster. By recovering better we are also decreasing our risk of injury.
Train hard, recover harder.
Over time, if you are regularly foam rolling between sessions and improving your recovery, you will be able to run each session better. Consistently running better times in training will lead to improvements in your performance.
2) Improved range of motion
Studies have shown that foam rolling improves range of motion. Improving range of motion has various effects on our performance as runners:
Decreased risk of injury
Improved running form
Better posture
Faster recovery
Improved speed
Improved kick at the end of a race
For best results try foam rolling after stretching.
3) Decreased risk of injury
Foam rolling is an effective form of massage that can help to decrease the risk of injury by breaking up adhesions (knots) in our muscles and improving our muscle function.
Also, foam rolling helps to increase our rate of recovery by increasing blood flow so we can get fresh blood to our aching muscles. This means our bodies will be more prepared for our next session.
By decreasing our risk of injury we can train more consistently over a longer period of time. It takes a long time to properly improve as a runner, if that time is spent having to take a couple weeks off every few months for an injury, then this seriously impacts our progression.
4) Reduced inflammation
Foam rolling promotes blood flow to get fresh oxygen to our muscles, this helps to remove waste products and replace it with nutrients. This will help to increase our rate of recovery and adaptations from training.
Foam rolling increases anti-inflammatory proteins and reduces pro-inflammatory proteins, this in turn improves our recovery rate and improves performance.
5) Improves performance
Foam rolling has many benefits for our running performance. Foam rolling can decrease our risk of injury, improve our range of motion, and improve our adaptations from the hard training we are doing.
Over a period of time, if we foam roll consistently, then we can see improvements in our performance.
Foam rolling may seem like an inconvenience that can be easily ignored. However, when we don't know why we are struggling to recover, lacking improvements, or getting injured, it's the little things like skipping our foam rolling that we can look back on for answers.
When should runners be foam rolling?
1) Pre-exercise
Foam rolling before a run can help reduce the risk of injury, improve our range of motion, and improve our performance.
One study found that foam rolling before pre-exercise improves flexibility and improves performance in sprinters.
2) After a run
Foam rolling after exercise can help to decrease your recovery time, meaning that your body will be better prepared for your next session. This means you can enjoy better adaptations from training and can also feel better on your next run.
3) In combination with stretches
A group of researchers analysed the literature on foam rolling and found that foam rolling decreased muscle soreness and improved range of motion. The researchers suggested that it should be used in combination of dynamic stretches and with a good warm-up before a session.
4) Foam rolling can be used as an active recovery exercise
Active recovery refers to a low-intensity exercise runners can do between harder runs to help reduce stiffness, improve recovery and improve performance.
Foam rolling can be used as an active recovery exercise to help us get our bodies ready for the next hard session when we are too tired to do a recovery run.
How to choose the right foam roller for you
There is now a wide variety of foam rollers available for runners:
Vibrating foam rollers
Smooth foam rollers
Bumpy foam rollers
Long foam rollers
Choosing the right foam roller can be complicated so be sure to click the link below to help you to decide which foam roller to invest in to improve your running.
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