How a personal trainer can benefit from foam rolling

Personal/Fitness Training Blog

Are you a personal trainer who is great at assisting your clients with bulking up through increasing the intensity of their training? Are you seeing many of your clients returning to you with complaints and persistent pains in places where these shouldn’t be?  Are these cramps and pains being meddlesome with your personal training client’s ability to squat just a bit deeper or, alternatively, run just a bit longer and faster?

A smart personal trainer doesn’t just work to improve the stamina and strength of their client.  Proper personal training goes far beyond watching clients perform repetitions, or bench pressing until they can’t do it anymore.  Personal trainers should also want to increase client’s range of motion while also minimising, or eliminating, any pain while they’re doing so.

What is foam rolling, exactly?

Foam rolling, which is also called self-myofascial release, has changed from a once-mysterious technique that was used only by professional athletes, coaches as well as therapists to a common-place practice for people at all fitness levels. Recent data, technology and products which are affordable have introduced an increasing array of personal training and recovery methodologies to the average person.

Foam rolling is a way that people can release muscle tightness or trigger points. This methodology can be done with a foam roller, lacrosse ball, Theracane or your hands. By putting pressure on particular points on your body you are able to aid in muscle recovery help to return them to normal functioning, in other words that your bodies muscles are subtle, healthy, and ready to perform at a moment’s notice.

How do you use a foam roller?

There are several body parts which you can use a foam roller on in order to relieve tension. These are the following:

  1. Thighs (front)

For a fabulous release for your quadriceps, lie on your stomach and position the foam roller under your thighs and make sure that your toes are on the floor. Press your hands into the floor. Shift your body forward and backward. Let the foam roller massage your quads.

  1. Thighs and Calves (back)

Position the foam roller under your thighs or calves while you’re lying on your back. Straighten your legs but keep your heels off the floor. Force your hands into the floor and slightly raise your glutes. Shift your body forwards and backwards while you let the foam roller massage the backs of your thighs or calves.

  1. Thigh (side)

If you need to release tension on the sides of your thighs, position the foam roller under the outside of one of your thighs. Straighten your leg and point your toes. Drive your hands into the floor and shift your body forwards and backwards. Do this while you’re rolling the roller along the side of your upper leg. Feel the release and then switch sides.

  1. Upper Back

Position the foam roller under the upper part of your back. Bend your legs and straighten your arms. Force your feet and hands into the ground. Lift your glutes off the floor and come up into a Bridge Pose. Move your body forwards and backwards while the roller massages the upper portion of your back.

  1. Lower Back

Put the foam roller under the lower portion of your back. Bend your arms and legs. Drive your feet and elbows into the ground. Raise your buttocks off the ground. Move your body forwards and backwards while you roll the roller along your lower back.

  1. Buttocks

To release any tension felt in your glutes, put the foam roller under your buttocks. Bend your legs. Put your feet flat on the floor. Shift your body forwards and backwards while you roll the roller across your buttocks.

It appears that foam rolling makes muscles more receptive to stretching as well as moving. It’s the best thing that we’ve found to make people feel better immediately after a tough workout at the gym.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

If you would like to learn more about foam rolling or perhaps become a Personal Trainer. Look no further than Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Personal Trainer Course.

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