Do your legs hurt and do you feel overloaded when exercising? Using a foam roller can help you overcome this uncomfortable feeling of muscle tension.
Thanks to a foam roller and making certain movements on it, you can work on relaxing and stretching your legs. You can mainly work glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calves.
A foam roller applies pressure to certain trigger points in the tissue that surrounds our muscles, helping to relieve pain and stiffness in both legs and lower back. It also speeds up recovery and improves overall performance.
These foam roller exercises can be done before starting our workout or after a long day of work to increase blood flow and reduce muscle soreness.
Exercises with the foam roller with the help of the weight and the movement of your body
Quadriceps
In plank position, you should place the roller just above your knees, leaving your feet off the ground. Keep your hips taut and roll your buttocks over the foam roller, applying pressure to it.
Only the quadriceps part should roll on the roller. It is preferable to perform the exercise with light but intense movements. In the first sessions it seems that the roughness of the roller bothers a little, it is a matter of time.
Once you have mastered the movement, you can position one leg over the other in such a way as to increase the weight on the roller.
Femoral biceps
Similar to the quadriceps, we will try to roll our hamstring on the roller. Sit up with your legs straight and place the roller under your knees. Rest your hands on the floor and push your hips up.
It is important to keep the legs fully straight and move from the back of the knees to almost reaching the gluteus.
Since your arms are tense, you may need to take a break every few minutes to rest. Little by little you will get more resistance.
Hamstrings
It is the same exercise we mentioned earlier, however you should start with the foam roller just below the knees and roll towards the ankles. Surely this costs less to perform, so we invite you to try to incorporate slightly more weight by placing one leg on the other.
Leg rotations
Lie down facing the ceiling. Keep your legs straight and support the back of your ankles on the roller.
Looking at the balls of your feet, begin to make circular movements. These movements must be extended with ankle turns, movements in “eight”. These movements that generate little muscle displacement, have a great effect on our joints.
It helps prevent possible hip injuries or bad posture, without a doubt the joints are more than important and we must take care of them like our muscles.
Hip flexors (psoas)
Lie in push-up position, with the foam roller directly under the front hip crease, feet on the ground to support your body. To increase pressure on your left hip flexor, bend your right knee to the side. Slowly roll up and down and side to side over this muscle.
After doing a few repetitions, change the orientation roller and work with the other side.
Hip flexor stretch
Lie down staring at the ceiling. Position the roller horizontally just below your hips. Your body should take a somewhat curved shape. Once you get a balance, you should shrink one of your knees until it almost meets your chest. You must maintain the knee flexion for a few seconds, forcing our muscles to stretch.
It is undoubtedly one of the exercises that cost the most, but its results are magnificent. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds before switching sides.
Buttocks
Sit on the foam roller with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Cross one leg over the other knee, then lean your body slightly to the side of the leg that is raised.
The position requires that you have one foot and one hand on the ground. Another hand holds the bent leg. You must be able to balance yourself on the roller. It requires a certain balance, so we advise you to be patient.
Surely it costs you more to work with one side than the other, so take advantage of the more developed to start adapting to it.
Squat
Squats are the perfect exercise for the body. It helps to work the core, the buttocks, and to stretch a large part of our body if we perform the exercise with a correct technique.
With your feet hip-width apart, hold the roller between both hands. Feet slightly open. Bend your knees and lower your hips as if you were going to sit down. Keep your spine straight and hold the squat for 60 seconds before going up.
