Curious about this as I haven’t seen anything on here and a quick search didn’t bring anything up.
Anyways, a few years ago when participating in my first ever Duathlon I saw a guy foam rollering his IT bands about 45 minutes before the race start. I though to myself I’d never want to do that before working out (at that time my IT bands were pretty darn tight and wasn’t used the pain of rollering). Fast foward to a week ago and for some reason that pre-race rollering event popped in my head. I thought to myself if it was a good idea and did a quick google search…a couple of running websites stated it is a great idea to loosen/warmup the muscles before activity (better than just a warmup alone according to one study for activity…not distance running per say though). Since I’ve pretty much gotten into the habit of rollering almost everyday now I am use to the pain/grind of those nasty spots in my legs.
So I tried rollering (not too crazy but about 10-15 minutes worth) and then went out for a long run. I had a goal pace of about 10 seconds faster per mile than my last long run a week prior since I held back on that run to not push too hard. Ended up feeling much looser/better during that run initially. Typically I am little tight for the first mile or so before settling a bit (but my start pace does affect my paces later in the run…harder for me to speed up if I start out too slow…kind of mental thingy for me). I ended up instead running at a pace 20 seconds faster than the goal pace (so 30 seconds/mile faster than last long run)…felt so good that if I wanted to I could have run an extra couple of miles at the same pace (didn’t but definitely would have).
Tried it a couple of more times and the runs again felt much better than before to make sure it wasn’t a fluke (placebo…maybe it is even but hey…it is working for me). I am going to do this before runs at least (as long as I am not running out of daylight) going forward and am thinking about bring my roller with me to my first race of the season to see how I do/feel during it (at least legs wise).
Anybody else have the same or similar experience rollering to warm up before a workout/race?
I always noticed that I for faster running (tempo, intervals, etc.), I was able to perform much better running in the afternoon when my legs and hips were loosened up and I was able to get more hip extension. A lot of the same benefits seem to be accomplished with a little foam rolling before morning workouts.
I always do foam rolling in the morning before jumping on the bike or racing. It helps to loosen up and ‘get the blood flowing’ , static stretching isn’t good to do cold, but rolling or more dynamic stuff helps for me atleast.
I often do a little foam roll before a run to loosen up. I think in my case it came from the year I was a pretend powerlifter, and I had to foam roll to loosen up enough to hit depth in squat… liked feeling a little bit looser to start, so I kept it in running.
Have never done it to bike, but it may not be a bad idea.
I always do for running and do it for cycling too when I have time. I have to a ball in the calves before and after every run. Makes a huge difference if you are prone to lower leg injuries. Also, check out the lunge matrix for before runs. It takes no time at all and really helps you loosen up before runs.
Yeah, I’ve heard about doing lunges and such for dynamic warmups. Typically I didn’t do them on a consistent basis unless I was really tight, then I do some bodyweight squats and lunges a bit to get things warmed up seemed to work ok.
Oh, and for years I’ve always done dynamic warmups anyways when I used to light heavy weights and such. Usually the first exercise that was a major muscle group I’d start out with light weight sets before hitting the first main set at the corresponding weight (i.e. for Dumbell bench for example a few pushups, then a 2 or so sets of 5 of gradually increasing weights to my main set start, same with squats…with the bar and then a few sets with light weights before the main set).
Tight(er) muscles inhibit full range of motion and as someone already said, this can affect performance and force production. So foam rolling and other similar practices are meant to inhibit the stretch reflex (quick stretch elicits a rapid contraction to shorten the muscle) within the muscle that keeps the muscle tighter/shorter. So the goal is to allow muscles to get back to their resting length which will allow for maximum performance (of that muscle) and avoid overworking an already tight muscle.
So when done correctly its a good way to pick some small low hanging fruit and get ready for a workout.
Are you guys talking about the foam rollers you lay on the ground and roll your body over? What about those hand held massage rollers, anyone use those?
Yes we are talking about thise rollers. I personally haven’t used a roller stick but ince the wife tried working on my IT bands with a wooden rolling pin…the type used for baking…that really hurt.
I imagine it would have a similar effect but I feel you get more punishment/deeper pressure with the roller when you put your body weight into it. Plus my arms/forearms would end up being super tight.
I try to foam roll before any kind of work out even if its just for a few mins. I use It mostly for dynamic stretching, I feel it gets the blood flowing and opens up my hips really well. Usually before any kind of running i’ll foam roll for 5 to ten mins and do a light 5 min jog with some butt kicks, lunges and high knees thrown in there.
I also like to pair it with some stick drills especially before lifting weights and swimming.