As a personal trainer, you are responsible for devising workouts and nutrition plans to help clients reach their fitness goals. When clients improve, it is your job to increase the intensity of their training. However, what happens when clients come to you with stiffness and soreness that just won’t budge? What do you do when these aches and pains prevent your clients from being able to lift more weight or keep the correct form? This is why you should recommend foam rolling to your clients.
One of the main goals of a personal trainer is to increase a client’s range of motion. So, where does foam rolling enter the equation? If your client is experiencing pain while performing a particular set, chances are that their range of motion is limited. Their limited range of motion is what stops them from graduating to the next level of fitness.
So, what is foam rolling?
While plenty of research has been done to investigate foam rolling and its benefits, this effective way of rehabilitating and conditioning muscles has been largely overlooked. However, personal trainers and coaches who recommend foam rolling to their clients have been able to pass on the benefits. As a result, their clients are able to recuperate faster and improve their overall fitness performance.
Known as self-myofascial release (SMR), foam rolling helps reduce muscle tension and increases muscle length. It can eliminate scar tissue, increase blood flow and circulation, and increase mobility for movements requiring a greater range of motion.
How does it work?
Foam rolling applies pressure to the fascia, which is a band of connective tissue that separates and supports muscles and internal organs. The pressure helps to eliminate scar tissue, reduce inflammation, and prevent or reduce adhesions. Essentially, foam rolling is a deep-tissue sports massage, which is why some athletes and personal trainers consider it an important part of any fitness programme.
As you work out, your muscles generate a build-up of lactic acid which essentially heightens fatigue, intensifies post-workout stiffness and lengthens your recovery time. Foam rolling targets this lactic acid and breaks it down, resulting in less post-workout stress on your body and less recovery time.
How can your clients benefit from it?
Muscle damage, after an intense workout, initiates a repair process in the body. New collagen molecules form to repair damaged tissue but if the tissue is not moved properly during this process, the collagen binds between the muscle layers. This hinders mobility and often causes pain.
Foam rolling directly after a training session promotes self-myofascial release, which improves overall flexibility and mobility. By rolling out these sore muscles, your clients ease their post-workout pain and stiffness. With less pain and stiffness, your clients will have an increased range of motion and more mobility. With more mobility, your clients will be able to perform and meet their fitness goals.
It is also easy to add a few minutes of foam rolling to your training sessions. Simply place the roller under the pressure point and advise your client to press down until the tension eases. Then lengthen out the muscle by gently rolling across it with the foam roller for 30 seconds to 90 seconds per muscle group.
Do you need to be trained in it?
While anyone can buy a foam roller and start using it, an accredited online foam rolling course can help you to understand the following:
- Biomechanics: Which muscles can be targeted
- Coaching: How to teach clients how to use a foam roller
- Discomfort/pain: How to know when a client is experiencing pain and what type of pain they are describing
If not done with the correct form and technique, you won’t experience the full benefits of foam rolling. In fact, improper use of a foam roller can even lead to injury. For example, rolling a sensitive area for too long can increase pain, rather than rehabilitate it. So before you recommend foam rolling to your clients, consider investing in proper training first.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy today
Enhance your personal training business offering with an online foam rolling course. Trifocus Fitness Academy offers accredited health and fitness courses, certifications and diplomas. Add certified foam rolling instructor to your arsenal of offerings by contacting Trifocus Fitness Academy today. Also, feel free to browse our website for information, blogs and news in the fitness industry, and let us give you the credentials you need for a successful career in fitness training.
