Most runners I’ve met love doing two things, the first is well, running.
We love running, but hate getting injured, or having sore and tight muscles that restrict us from running, right?
The second thing most runners love to do after a satisfying run is pretty much nothing; so how can we have the best of both worlds?
After I finish a run, or any sort of exercise, the last thing I want to do is roll my tired body over a dissatisfying roller that is, in short, painful! Well I came across Pulseroll foam rollers and have never looked back as they Vibrate – yes, that’s right they vibrate!
The vibration of these rollers help circulate blood flow to enable a quicker recovery time post run, release tight muscles, and initiate flushing away of that dreaded next day muscle ache cause by lactic acid.
Here are my top four exercises that have helped my body stay injury free, relaxed, and most importantly running pain free! The great thing with the Pulseroll is that you actually do almost NO Rolling! The Vibrations do all the work for you, it is much less painful than regular foam rollers and I achieve much faster results.
The Hamstring Sit
The worst thing about tight hamstrings is that they make sitting down on a chair painful! Yes, you know exactly what I’m talking about…
To get rid of this, sit on the floor (at least it’s not a chair) with your legs outstretched in front of you, place the Pulseroll roller at the top of one hamstring, and slightly lean forwards. Every few minutes move the roller a few centimetres, leave for a few minutes, then repeat the process until your hamstrings feel stretched, and loosened off.
The Calf Saver
Tight calves are not only painful for us runners, but can lead to problems with our Achilles tendons, and also the dreaded Plantar Fasciitis that every runner I know fears.
Starting with the Pulseroll roller at the bottom of your calf muscles, cross your legs so one ankle is on top of the other. This small amount of extra pressure, combined with the vibration helps soothe these aching muscles, and release the tension of your days run.
Once again, every few minutes move the roller a few centimetres, and let your body tell you where it needs more of the “magic vibrations” to remove tightness in your calves.
The Quad Drop
After running downhill, during fast tempo runs or track sessions, I defiantly feel my quads have taken a beating. To help minimise this, the quad drop is my go to exercise.
Lying on your stomach, with a Pulseroll roller under one of your quadriceps, start with that knee straight. As the vibrations start to penetrate through the muscle and increase blood flow, slowly bend your knee bringing your heel towards your bottom.
This gives a satisfying stretch through the muscles, alongside increased blood flow from the vibrations, and with these two sensations you have a recipe for rapid recovery!
After bending and straightening your leg 10 times, move the roller a few centimetres, and repeat the process.
The Glute Loosener
The Pulseball is the perfect size to help release tight knots deep in your glutes.
Lay on your back with the Pulseball underneath your bottom; move around until the vibrating ball hits a tight spot. Take a deep breath, and relax your body, letting your bodyweight and the Pulseball vibrations break up any tension spots you have tightening up your glutes.
—————————————————–
Pulseroll with their brilliant recovery products have come up with a solution that can not only help us runners run more, but without having to do hours of tedious painful foam rolling after each time we lace up our trainers. Find out more about Pulseroll online HERE.