Skyler Meine

Where To Start

The first question I ask myself when starting an exercise program with a client is how can I keep this person healthy. Injury will stop the best exercise program dead in its tracks. To prevent injury, each muscle and joint needs to be moving correctly. In order to ensure this is happening, I use foam rolling and active stretching to improve the quality and function of my clients’ muscles and joints.

Foam rolling is nothing more than self massage. Foam rolling targets trigger points or areas where the muscle fascia has become thick, tough or knotted. These areas, if not treated, can potentially create dysfunction and eventually injury. By rolling out each muscle group with a foam roller, especially targeting tight or painful areas, you can start improving the muscle fascia and prevent injury. (more…)

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The most important part of achieving your IdealShape is creating the habits that allow you to take better care of your body and mind.

Taking better care of your body is going to require building muscle that will increase your metabolism. To do this you need to be able to exercise. Before you get tOo far into your exercise regimen, you need to figure out how to keep your muscles and joints healthy to perform the exercise you need to get to your IdealShape.

For years individuals have used massage to prepare for and recover from exercise. For the average person, to pay a therapist to work them over before and after a workout could cost a fortune. Recently, foam rolling was created to take the place of hands-on massage. Foam rolling is more convenient and is very inexpensive in comparison to the cost of a massage therapist. Foam rolling or self-myofascial release is self-massage done with a 18 to 36 inch by 6 inch cylindrical roller. Massage realigns the muscles in our bodies that have been overused or injured. It also increases blood flow to these muscles.

Foam rolling when started can be somewhat painful. These painful areas are the areas that are injured or have been overused and need to be repaired. You can foam roll as many times a day as you would like, but I generally use it with my clients right before and after their workouts.

Start with this intro to foam rolling given by Kit, or watch the actual demonstration below.

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