There are many things you can do to optimize your fitness routine. You can search for the right programs, equipment, or even music playlists to get the most out of a workout. But when it comes to making the most out of your fitness routine, it’s very important to remember warm-up, cool-down, and recovery sessions.
It’s easy to forget that your workout doesn’t always start with the first exercise or end with the last. It might be tempting to skip your stretches and begin running, or to drop that last weight and just head out of the gym. However, incorporating warm-up exercises and cool-down activities, such as stretches that activate key muscles or short meditations to get in the zone, ensures that your body gets all that it can from your workouts and promotes proper after workout recovery.
Today, there are many great tools and resources to help with your warm-up, cool-down, and recovery sessions. Some of the best tools are foam rollers and vibrating rollers for fitness.
Foam Roller for Fitness
Foam rollers are self-myofascial release tools that have a variety of uses when it comes to fitness. They are most commonly used for Pilates exercises and physical therapy activities, and generally serve two critical functions for a complete workout:
1. Warm Up and Muscle Activation
Using a foam roller will massage and loosen up your muscles and help with flexibility. When used as a tool for warming up, foam rollers can help to prevent injuries that may occur during a workout session. If you use a vibrating roller, the tool also helps increase your blood circulation, activating your muscles and preparing them for intense or strenuous physical activity.
2. Muscle Recovery
Foam rollers are great tools for sore muscles. You can use them to relieve sore muscles or as help to recover from minor injuries. They can even speed up recovery time if you use them for active recovery exercises.
Conventional foam rollers are incredibly helpful tools, but the advent of the vibration roller will certainly up your ability to prepare for and recover from your intense workouts.
Vibrating Rollers for Fitness
Vibration rollers are a special kind of foam roller and an excellent aid to your daily routine. A vibration roller helps prepare you for your workout, serves as a tool for sore muscles, and even promotes rapid muscle recovery. Professional athletes have used these high-tech vibrating rollers for years. Now, vibrating rollers are available to the general public.
The best times to use a vibration roller are before and after your main workout—to help with preparation and recovery. Although less common, there are also ways to incorporate your vibration roller into your main workout.
How Do I Use a Foam Roller?
You may be wondering, "How do I use a foam roller, and does vibration really make a difference?"
One of the foam roller’s greatest aspects is its versatility. You can use the roller for various needs or tasks, ranging from massaging your muscles to practicing yoga. The key to using a foam roller is to listen to your body.
When using a foam roller, you choose what part of your body to focus on—which may depend on your planned workout or feelings of soreness. If you use a vibrating roller, the vibration will help get your blood pumping, and the pressure you put on the roller will help relax and stretch out your muscles.
Vibrating rollers for fitness, such as the Hyperice Vyper 2.0, are up to twice as effective as a regular foam roller. With three different high intensity vibrating speeds, you are certain to find the right setting for your needs.
After turning on your roller and picking the appropriate setting, you want to lie down so that the roller massages the right muscle. For instance, if you’re a runner, you want to make sure that your calves are ready and warmed up. To use a vibrating roller, sit down with your legs outstretched and place the roller under your lower calves. Keeping your hands behind you, lift your body up, and use your body weight to maintain pressure on the vibration roller as you guide it up and down your calves. Feel around. Try to recognize and focus the roller on problem points that aren’t loosening up as quickly as others.
Whether you’re gearing up for an intense upper body workout or recovering from a pulled hamstring, a vibration roller is a useful tool for any workout need. Hyperice has a series of short instructional videos that show you how to target different muscles. Some methods may seem more straightforward, such as massaging the bottom of your foot, while others can be more challenging.
Note that the Hyperice Vyper 2.0 is TSA approved as a carry-on, meaning you can take this essential tool with you on business trips, vacations, or any other travels without worry.
Conclusion
We all have a lot to juggle in our day-to-day lives, and it’s often hard to fit in a workout—never mind extra stretching and recovery. However, if you take the time to work on your physical health, it’ll all be worth it.
The best way to maximize your health gains is to make sure your body is ready for workouts and able to recover afterward—actively taking time for after workout recovery is greatly beneficial for your health, especially if you are concerned with muscle recovery or soreness.
A regular foam roller is an excellent option for warming up and cooling down, but vibrating rollers for fitness will bring your daily fitness routine to the next level.
Professional athletes use vibration rollers every day as they prepare for their workouts and recover from competition. Now, you can also use the power of this new fitness technology and benefit like the pros. No matter what muscles feel sore on a given day, a vibration roller will be able to help you cope with and persevere through the pain to achieve your health and fitness goals.
