Foam Rollers

I was introduced to foam rollers by my co-worker and good friend Doug McCarthy. Doug is also on his own journey of weigh-loss, inch-loss and fitness. Let me tell you, he is doing amazing. Down 25lbs in 3 months, 4.5% body fat and 17 inches. Unreal. Whoot Whoot!

After my 100 squats on Wednesday I had some serious quad pain the next day. I'm talking "couldn't climb the two flights of stairs in my house" quad pain. And of course I still wore my designer pumps to work. (Obvi) Point being, my legs were sore as hell. Doug recommended I try a foam roller. A what???  For those like me who were picturing those old pink foam hair rollers from my days as a jazz dancer - you are wrong.

"Foam rolling is a technique that is used by athletes and physical therapists to inhibit overactive muscles. This form of stretching utilizes the concept of autogenic inhibition to improve soft tissue extensibility, thus relaxing the muscle and allowing the activation of the antagonist muscle."

This video shares some great exercises to use!
Let me tell you, I had to leave my dignity at the door as I was basically dry humping the ground while doing my quads (as seen in video at 1:15). I won't lie, these stretches hurt. But it is a good pain and my legs feel amazing now.