Xmas gift dilemma. Mrs b would like a foam roller for post running etc stretching. She uses at the gym.

Looking online there seems to be a range of prices and styles. Is this foam roller an ok purchase?

Ta

You want one with lots of bumps nobbles on it

Wife or roller?

Roller, wife you want nice and smooth

I had a foam roller like that but found the trigger point one to be better.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/trigger-point-grid-foam-roller/rp-prod70385

I use one of these. Eye wateringly painful at the time but I’ve found it to be better than a smooth foam version. It’s also solid so it won’t lose shape over time.

The rollers that have a solid plastic core are a lot more ‘intense’ than the pure foam rollers; I guess they don’t have as much give.

I use a normal ‘white foam’ foam roller and when I tried the plastic core one that my brother-in-law uses it was a bit too much.
I think if you used a foam one regularly enough you would then probably progress to a firmer one, but it could be a bit too intense to start with. Depends how much she uses it at the gym I guess.

Also, find out what size she uses. The long ones are quite unwieldy but does allow you to be a bit less careful about placement.

My gym, which only employs physios / Strength and Conditioning Coaches, has the smooth finish foam rollers, so that’s what I’d buy.

I have a smooth one, seems to work fine, got it at a local (reccommeded) physio place £15.

Main thing for me is to get one of the shorter ones, the longer ones seem to sag in the middle, and you dont want that in a roller or a wife.

I went to a bike fit/physio place a few years ago and got given a length of cardboard tube that carpet comes on. Far too hardcore for me soon went for the smooth foam one.

I’ve got a ResultSport® Alpha+ Foam Roller (from Amazon) It works fine, although I’ve not used any other model so nothing to compare to. Despite being foam it’s very solid, definitely no give in it.

The one you’ve posted is poor quality. I had one and it lost its shape within 2 months.

What you want is a physio quality foam roller. You can get one of the fancy ones with bumps on, but the smooth ones work just as well and are cheaper.

Take your pick: http://www.physiosupplies.com/exercise/foam-rollers.html

I use this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Mile-Beast-Foam-Roller/dp/B0096QL70Q

Very painful after a long run but very good

Sweatshop are doing their own branded nobbly ones for £25, I got one yesterday

Knobbly ones are good, can be a bit frustrating at first as it takes a while to get used to shifting your weight around to be able to hit trigger points effectively.

I use a normal one as well as I find the rolling action works better on certain areas such as IT band.

+1 BoardinBob

I find “The Grid” very effective (and painful)

I use one called a rumble roller. . Find it very effective(looks rather like a torture device though!)

I have this one and it is an expensive way to inflict pain upon myself… seems to help though.

£9 from Sports Direct

Lonsdale

Seems ok to me – physio reckons that the smooth ones work just as well as the knobbly ones because the aim is to find the points of resistance. Smooth ones will always find the points. Knobbly ones are a marketing design. All just his opinion tho

Black rumble roller

As a long term foam roller user, I can tell you that a foam roller will improve your life. I’ve owned the solid foam ones, the Rumble Roller and the hollow Triggerpoint Grid roller.

But the Triggerpoint roller is the best overall and will last for ages. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/trigger-point-grid-foam-roller/rp-prod70385

The solid foam ones tend to go soft over time (like a cushion) and you’ll need to replace them sooner. They can be ok for the first while and they are a bit more gentle when you’re starting out. But as your muscles become less tacked down, and your roller gets softer, you’ll inevitably buy the Triggerpoint Grid roller anyway.

The rumble roller is nice to have as a second plan of attack to work out some particularly stubborn knots that you can’t get out with a smooth roller, but it’s not as versatile and I wouldn’t suggest it as an intro to foam rolling.

Have a look at mobility wod for some great ways to use them, as well as other life-changing mobility tricks http://www.mobilitywod.com

And there are more mobility (torture) devices on here: http://www.rogueeurope.eu/mobility-rehab.php (i’m a particular fan of the lacrosse balls and the voodoo floss — you have to try it to believe how good it is)