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.

Demonstration

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Without further ado… let’s start gaining, muscle that is!

Pull Yourself Together

First things first: if you want to be in top form, you need to know how to lift with composure. “Just because you manage to somehow lift the weight doesn’t mean you’re doing it right,” says Mark over at The Man FAQ in regards to gaining muscle.

To prevent injury (and actually accomplish something), start with a muscle building program that tells you exactly what exercise, number of sets, and reps to build shredded muscle. And it always helps to have a friend to spot you. Some basic guidelines: use your core and glutes for strength, use controlled movements (for heaven’s sake, don’t swing!) and balance your weight.

The Fast Track to Ripped

Wimpy cardio won’t bulk you up. That’s why Taylor Lautner—the Twilight star who Men’s Health affectionately calls a “rippled fitness animal”—lifts heavy. Fewer reps, more weight. Think you can gain 30 pounds of muscle in a year? Give Lautner’s training program a try.

You don’t need to ditch cardio completely, but if you’re burning through all your muscle with catabolic exercise, pack a few extra muscle-maximizers into your strength training program.

Don’t let cardio deplete your energy before you even start lifting. Do cardio after weights or on your “rest” days.

Stuck with Robert Pattinson’s skinny guy syndrome? Bah. Hard-gainers can still get buff

3 Ways to Take Control of Your Training

• To keep gaining muscle, switch up your training: try these metabolic circuit pointers to accelerate your routine.
• Don’t train blindly. You’ll reach your goals in record time if you measure results often and keep fine-tuning your program.
• Vince Delmonte the creator of No Nonsense Muscle Building says, “That 97% of muscle building advice is dead wrong.” Follow a program that has been proven to create results for makes the most sense. For Vince’s program Click Here!“

Kettlebells, Barbells or Dumbbells?

When it comes to building muscle, “nothing takes the place of progressive weight training with barbells,” says trainer Mike Mahler, who also dishes thorough instructions for sandbag training, bodyweight training and more. Nonetheless, he’s a big fan of using kettlebells. Wonder why?

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Solid to the Core

Our day-to-day activities can wreak havoc on our alignment—which, in turn, can devastate our training. Strengthening your core muscles (and using them to lift) will improve your body’s balance, prevent injury and strain, and give you unexpected strength. Take the Core Quiz at IdealShape and learn how to exercise this powerhouse in your daily activities.

If a chiseled stomach is your goal, it doesn’t take much to get there: you can get washboard abs fast and without equipment!

Be Good to Your Muscles

Dehydration will nosedive your strength and increase your chance of injury. So make sure you’re hydrated well in advance of your workout, and drink more water on training days.

Prevent middle-of-the-night muscle cramping

Muscle massage is more than a luxury—it’s critical to release that tension in order to prevent injury, protect muscle quality and get the most out of your workouts. The good news is you can do myofascial release yourself. Most gyms have foam rollers, and you can buy one inexpensively for your home gym, too.

Got a question about strength training or program design? Ask us!

If you are ready to get started building pure muscle and putting on the weight you so desperately want starting today, we recommend No Nonsense Muscle Building. Learn more about it now Click Here!

A: Sandy, I’ve been thinking about that lately, too! The weather just warmed up here in Utah and I pulled out my summer shorts—only to find they don’t look so great on me right now… Despite all the naysayers, I have found a few things that work for cellulite, including exercise, and I’ll be doing them along with you!

What Causes Cellulite?

Unfortunately, you can’t get rid of cellulite by simply shedding fat. It’s not the existence of subcutaneous fat but the way it’s distributed that causes this dimpling of the skin. According to Wikipedia, 80-90% of females have cellulite. (Guys get it, too, just not as often, and they don’t seem to care all that much).

Many dermatologists insist there’s nothing you can do about cellulite: it’s in the genes, they say. Still others claim that metabolism, hormones and stress play a part.

In the end, little has been concluded scientifically about cellulite’s causes or cures. Nonetheless, there’s plenty of advice out there for banishing it—from creams (I’ve had minimal luck), to body wraps, to massaging the skin with a boar-bristled brush (not pleasant, I’ve found, even if it does work).

If you’re lucky enough to see results from these “quick fixes,” it’s surely fleeting. Which is why I’m glad you asked about exercise.

Exercise: A Cure for Cellulite?

While experts aren’t explicitly saying that exercise gets rid of cellulite, Mayo Clinic asserts that an inactive lifestyle can cause it. They also say excess fat will make cellulite more noticeable. What I draw from that?

1. Even if you can’t control how your body distributes fat under the skin, shedding excess fat helps.
2. Firmer legs and buns can make cellulite look less apparent.

So Let’s Get Moving!

High-intensity cardio like power-walking is a great start for keeping legs trim, but to add firmness, you’ll want to start doing resistance exercises, too.

Squats, lunges, pliés and stair-climbing will firm up your inner thighs, outer thighs and glutes. These movements build muscle, which means double fat burn! For extra inner thigh toning, you can also do side leg lifts (inwards and outwards) with a resistance band or body bar.

If you’d like to start with a guided workout, one of my favorites is The Firm® Hips, Thighs and Abs DVD. It’s a quick 30 minute routine with a “Firm Box” (I just use an aerobic step) that delivers great leg and glute tone. It also has the best ab workout I’ve ever done. For those who get the tummy and “love handle” cellulite, a thorough core workout can be a godsend!

In addition to exercise, here’s what many people do to help improve tone and firmness:

• Foam rolling: If massage helps to smooth out cellulite dimples, then foam rolling surely will too. Plus, it feels much better than a bristle brush massage! Read more about foam rolling and watch a demonstration here.
• Protein: It facilitates muscle tone and development, so have a shake, bar or other protein source after every strength training workout. Get tips for maximizing protein’s benefits here.
• Supplements: Natural substances like green tea and resveratrol help the body metabolize fat more efficiently, and can be taken in supplement form. I’ve used both with very noticeable results.
• Water: Staying hydrated will preserve the skin’s elasticity, making it less likely to dimple and dent around fatty spots. So drink up!

(Many of the products I’ve mentioned, like the foam roller, exercise bands and metabolism-boosting supplements, can be found at IdealShape.)

While exercise can help reduce the appearance of cellulite (not to mention improve your health, strength and figure), remember this: The women who are considered to have the most beautiful bodies in the world have cellulite. This was revealed in an article about the dozens of layers of makeup applied to Victoria’s Secret models’ buns for a runway show. If 90% of us ladies—including the world’s top models—have cellulite and stretch marks, they can’t be that bad, right?

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