Massage has long been used as a way to both increase performance and decrease aches and pains for athletes. It is used by athletes in every sport today because of how effective it is. Plain and simple. Now, massage is making it’s way into Jiu Jitsu as well given the demands of rolling and the toll it takes on our bodies. However, unlike professional athletes, most of us cannot afford to get a massage by a massage therapist on a regular basis. Unlike the professional athletes who have shown us how effective it can be, we simply don’t have the resources they do. Fortunately, though, you can easily get a lot of the benefits of a massage for a fraction of the price. Plus, you can use it anytime, anywhere which will make it much easier to travel and fit into your schedule. This valuable tool is the Foam Roller. And in this post, we are going to teach you how you can incorporate it into your Jiu Jitsu routine to really improve your recovery, strength and conditioning, flexibility amongst other benefits. Fitness Foam Roller For Better Jiu Jitsu Foam rollers are cylinders of foam (or other synthetic polymer materials) used to roll out your muscles. By using a Foam Roller and gravity you can effectively dig into a muscle much the same way a massage therapist will with their fingers. This allows you to target trigger points and knots in the muscle in order to get them to release, resulting in less muscle tension and increased mobility. This also increases blood flow and circulation in the muscles, helping to increase oxygen delivery and waste removal within the muscles. This has a massive impact on your recovery after rolling. Of course you can also use it to warm up, increase mobility and movement, as well as to improve your flexibility. All these things will obviously make your Jiu Jitsu better. Let’s take an example to illustrate the use of foam rolling. In Jiu Jitsu, we all know how important the hips are. It’s the hips that give you that mobility, that smoothness of movement and we all know that hip mobility truly is vital to better performance on the mats. You use them for simple movements like “hip” escapes, guard recapturing, sprawling and for proper Armbar and Triangle execution. It’s essential BJJ stuff. You know this. You also know that the hips take a beating from all that use in BJJ and they can get tight. And, that isn’t good for your Jiu Jitsu. So, take a few minutes to learn how to massage your weary hips using the ubiquitous foam roller.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 15:35:19 +0000
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