I got my foam roller yesterday!

[Grissim Connery]

The thing shipped fast as hell, and i immediately proceeded to rip it out of the box and have at it. I almost had to take a nap after using it. After rolling out most of my body, my brain felt both relaxed and cloudy. i probably should have just gone to sleep.

normally to warm up for workouts, i have to do what's called the rocking chair. basically you curl up all fetal like and roll back in forth and into different positions (mainly for grappling mobility). aside from just getting the body moving, i always felt that it got my muscles more ready than a lot of other stuff. now i realize that it was essentially rolling out my back muscles just like the foam roller. doing the rocking chair on a hard surface like a basketball courts always seemed better. it is rough at first, but after a few minutes i would feel unbelievably invigorated.

anyways i'm pumped to have the foam roller now to hit spots that don't normally get hit when i'm rolling around.

[Steven Low]

Rolling around. Good idea... haven't done that in years. Sounds good actually.

[Derek Simonds]

This is my favorite warmup routine using the foam roller. I try and do this most days but forget a lot.

http://ericcressey.com/the-cressey-p...-roller-series

[Grissim Connery]

thanks for the link. that's some good stuff.
i got a bunch of lacrossse balls lying around that i'll prob take to my school gym. not sure though how to fit a 3 foot roller in my backpack though...i would just carry it in my hands, but i live in cleveland so those hands are for sure in my pockets.

[Brian Lawyer]

I've worked the foam roll into my warmup a few times as well. As far as deep tissue massage for recovery though, I started using a mini basketball.

[Kris Reeves]

I'm a gear whore...I bought one of these:

http://store.tptherapy.com/ProductDe...ctCode=TPT-TPQ

Makes the foam roller seem like child's play. This thing brought tears to my eyes. It's like using a barbell as a roller.

It's only big enough for the quads (can't roll out your back, etc.) but it hits much, much deeper than a foam roll. Plus, the way it's built...it appears that it will far outlive a regular foam roll.

[Allen Yeh]

I like Eric Cresseys pre-workout foam roller/lacrosse ball routine as well.

Other times I'll just go at whatever hotspots I have when I'm watchign tV with the family or something like that.

[Blair Lowe]

The rest of TPtherapy tools are awesomely painful so I opted to be economic and just buy the ball instead of the rest. Easier on my pocketbook.

[Allen Yeh]

Is buying the TP Therapy ball much different than using a lacrosse/tennis ball? I was always curious.

[Grissim Connery]

so far my experience with the foam roller has been intense. each time i've focused on one muscle group that seems like it needs a good deal of work, i stay sore for like 4 days. this started with my glutes. i've already noticed that my glutes don't get nearly as sore as they normally do after a day full of squatting, and they feel fine after rolling now. i've been exploring other areas in a similar manner. generally i'll go over most the body moderately, and then give focus to one area that has seemed problematic.

one thing that has helped me is dropping to my knees and putting a lacrosse ball beneath a knee (you'll have to put your hands on the floor like cat's pose to balance). i'll roll it all around the kneed cap (mainly below but all around). sometimes when i go to ju jitsu and it's cold and my legs are a little tight, plopping down into somebody's closed guard puts a noticeable tension on the knee, ankle flexor, and ankle. rolling out the kneecap for a few minutes really opens that area up.