First time hearing about foam rolling? Have you seen one before but couldn’t figure out what the person was doing on it?

Foam rolling has been gaining popularity among fitness professionals and their clients for many years. It allows you to take care of your soft tissue(the tissue that holds your muscle fibers together) without the cost of a massage therapist. There are many benefits to foam rolling and it’s about time everyone took notice and made it a part of their exercise routine.

Foam rolling requires the use of a FOAM ROLLERthat is generally 6” thick and 36” long.  Foam rollers come in different evels. The less dense, the less pressure that will be applied to the muscle. Self massage can be painful when first starting because the fascia is tight, but over time the fascia will release. We always recommend beginning with a less dense roller and working your way up to a denser roller.

Why practice foam rolling? It will help prevent injury and improve recovery from a workout or injury. It can be done before or after a workout and takes between 5 and 10 minutes to complete. It targets areas of overuse or injury and gets the muscle/fascia to release. Basically, you’re ironing out the muscle and fascia to lie properly, which will improve range of motion and posture. Foam rolling is also going to increase blood flow to the areas you’re rolling out, so it’s great to do before you stretch. Some fitness coaches would even tell you that stretching is almost useless without rolling first.

What is the procedure for foam rolling? You’ll be rolling out all the large muscle groups in your body and will need to roll the entire length of each muscle a couple of times. When you find tight areas (called “trigger points”), spend extra time trying to get those muscles to release. You can spend up to 30 seconds on the trigger points.  The focus should be on muscles and not joints. If you are really tight or sore, you can foam roll (self-massage) up to 12 times a day.

Start foam rolling today. Every home, work place and gym should have a foam roller. It is not only great for recovery, but will also give you a greater sense of well-being and relaxation.

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Q: What does it mean if I am getting charley horses all the time in my legs and feet… especially at night when I am in bed? What can I do to help not get them as much? Or as bad? – Samantha

A: There’s a lot of debate about what causes “charley horses,” or muscle cramps. According to an ABC News report, the medical world can’t pinpoint exactly why they strike out of the blue, why some people get them more than others, and why these sudden spasms usually occur in the legs and feet.

Though muscle cramping isn’t believed to be a serious condition, it is painful and inconvenient, especially when it wakes you up mid-slumber!

Most experts have chalked muscle cramping up to these factors:

• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
• Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances
• Muscle overexertion
• Cramp-inducing blood pressure and diabetes medications
• Sitting in one position too long

There’s no instant cure for charley horses, but stretching and massaging the muscle usually helps to relieve the pain. When massaging, it’s best to rub in the direction of the muscle fibers. So, if you get a charley horse in your calf, rub from your knee down to your heel, not sideways across the calf. Moving around and soaking in a warm bath are other ways to increase circulation and help relax the contracted muscle. You may want to warm the muscle up this way before attempting to stretch it out.

Can Muscle Cramps Be Prevented?

Based on the suspected charley horse culprits, there are many things you can do to reduce your chances of muscle cramping.

STAY HYDRATED—You should be drinking at least 8 cups of water a day, and staying hydrated through your workouts. Having a glass of water before bed may help, too. Here are some good hydration rules.

TAKE A MULTIVITAMIN—Incorporating supplements into your diet will help with certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which are a suspected factor in muscle cramping. Some experts have pointed to a lack of potassium specifically, and bananas can take care of that.

EXERCISE SMARTLY—It’s important to be patient and sensible with your body: if you over-exercise, skip your warm-ups or overload your muscles, you could be at greater risk for muscle cramping. More on muscle care below!

Show Your Muscles Some Love

Working out at a level of fitness that is too advanced, or progressing in your regimen too quickly, could be one cause of your muscle contractions. In addition to overexertion in exercise, not properly warming up and cooling down could be contributors. If you’re getting muscle cramping, it may be a sign that you’re not overloading your muscles.

People often neglect to think about their muscle health, but it’s really important. We tend to get bored/impatient/short on time, and skimp on our warm up and cool down times. This leads to decreased muscle quality, pain, and a high risk of injury. So make sure you’re warming up your muscles before a workout, especially if you’ll be doing strength training, sports or rigorous exercise. Light cardio or active stretching should do the trick.

Post-workout stretching will help release your muscles so they don’t stay tight. Try holding each stretch for at least a minute: breathe deeply, relax and, after 30 seconds, go deeper into the stretch for another 30 seconds. Think of proper muscle care as an integral part of your workout and allow plenty of time for it. The more time you spend, the more you’ll increase flexibility and range of motion, improving your overall fitness results.

Foam Rolling is a wonderful way to release muscles before and after a workout (it’s kind of like a mini massage). The foam roller is especially good for your glutes, quads and calves—common charley horse spots. Watch a demonstration of how to use a foam roller for each muscle area here.

Most gyms have foam rollers that you can use, and you can also purchase an inexpensive, high-quality Myofascial Release Roller from IdealShape. Spend 5-10 minutes massaging your muscles with a foam roller and you will be able to recover more quickly from your workouts, as well as prevent soreness and injuries.

Has anyone else found a way to deal with charley horses, or identified what causes them for you?

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Q:  How do I prevent soreness after a workout? Tricia P.

A:  Soreness is always a concern after a hard workout or when you just start exercising out again.   In reality many people avoid it all together because of the soreness they experience after working out.  Soreness is created by the tearing down of the muscle tissue during a workout. DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) generally catches up to you within 24 to 48 hours.  Some soreness after a hard routine is inevitable because you tore down the muscle, but there are things that you can do before and after your workout to decrease soreness.

Before a workout you need to make sure you eat some carbs and protein(4:1 ratio).  Foam rolling or self massage before exercising will get your blood flowing and work the knots out of the muscle.  Active stretching will also help warm up the muscle and get you stretched out.  Make sure you stay hydrated during the workout.

After the workout you want do some static stretching the kind of stretching you learned in elementary.   There is no evidence that we have found that indicates that this helps with soreness, but from practical experience we believe that recovery from a hard workout is improved by doing static stretching. Then jump on the foam roller and really emphasize the areas that you worked out.  Make sure you rehydrate with water to get your fluid levels back to where they were before you started exercising.  Re-hydrating will help get out any of the toxins moving in your system. Get the right nutrients back into your system to help with recovery.  If you are breaking down the muscle you need protein to replace the protein you just broke down.  Make sure to eat or supplement with protein within thirty minutes of finishing.

The final two tips and maybe the hardest tips to follow are to take a hot and cold shower and get plenty of sleep.  The theory behind hot and cold showers is that by dilating and constricting blood vessels it helps remove waste products from tissue. You should alternate from hot to cold in your shower at 2 minutes hot to :30 seconds cold this can be repeated up to four times.  We have been told for years that our bodies’ need 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep and it has even been recommended for every hour you workout you body may need an extra hour of sleep to recover. Try to get as much sleep as you can with your busy schedule.