Foam rolling/stretching - best for cyclists?

fudgey

I admit that i rarely stretch before or after a ride and just lately have been feeling a bit tight, calves and hamstrings for example. So today i bought a foam roller with the intension of getting my arse in gear and starting to stretch in the evenings etc on as much of a daily basis that i can.

Now i have done a search on here for exercises/stretches/what to foam roll but it has not proved too fruitful with many results.
Is there some sort of guide i am missing as im sure the question has been asked before?

I had a go with the foam roller earlier after watching some youtube videos, doing the ITB roll - jesus h christ thats painful! Didnt manage that one much. Calves hurt a lot too but thighs, hamstrings and glutes were ok.

Thanks in advance for any input.

meanredspider

Did you see this?

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/h ... les-42864/

Dunno if it's any good.

madasahattersley

There is some debate about the effect of foam rollers, and the are plenty of people who question whether they have any effect at all.

Personally I've got a pretty open mind and I still use mine a fair bit but what I will say absolutely for certain is that foam rolling is NOT, and never will be a substitute for static stretching.

In my opinion stretching is far far more important and more effective. If you stretch religiously for 20 minutes or more after you've finished riding/running or even in the evenings rather than sitting on the sofa watching TV you WILL see massive gains in flexibility. In the long term (5+ years) it can be the difference between being able to touch your shins and being able to have your hands flat on the floor with a 50 degree bend in your elbows.


Few things about using the foam roller for ITB stretching;
- You can't stretch the ITB with a foam roller any more than you can stretch a 2" thick highly strung steel wire with a rolling pin
- The ITB is not a muscle. In fact it's more like a tendon than a muscle - it isn't supposed to be loose, and if it were it wouldn't be doing its job properly
- The ITB is the scapegoat of almost everybody's problems from knee pain to muscle cramps, you name it. It isn't always the issue.


So IMO foam rollers do have a use but they are simply an injury prevention tool, not a magic cure for anything.

fudgey

Meanredspider - yes, after reading that i had made the decision to buy one, just wondering if there is any thing else i should be looking at doing with it.

Madasahattersley - yes i understand about stretching as being important hence asking what ones are the best to do and the idea of the foam roller was for kind of massaging tight muscles. or have i got that wrong?

cheers chaps

bahzob

There is near universal acceptance across all sports that you should NOT stretch before exercise. This will only risk injury and gives no useful benefit.

Stretching after exercise on the other hand is fine. However if time is limited I would be more inclined to spend this on core work since this is probably more important in terms of overall health/wellbeing and riding benefit. A well designed routine such as those in the book "Core Advantage" will anyway also involve a fair amount of stretching and improve balance+flexibility. They also require no special equipment.

bahzob

bahzob wrote:

There is near universal acceptance across all sports that you should NOT stretch before exercise. This will only risk injury and gives no useful benefit.

To make the point, by coincidence this article just popped up on Velonews

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/11/training-center/sports-psychology/done-gun-warm-making-slower_352377?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=VeloNews.com%20Newsletter&utm_content=110814_Prologue

pastryboy

I've never thought foam rollers were meant to be a form of stretching. I use it for aches and knots

fudgey

pastryboy wrote:

I've never thought foam rollers were meant to be a form of stretching. I use it for aches and knots

I got it with idea of massaging after stretching, as the wife is not interested hahaha.