Being a Professional Strongman Takes a Toll

One of the main areas that I needed to focus on was my neck. One of the feats of strength I perform is called “Lifted Up.” This feat involves me hanging a person from my head and holding out two heavy steel crosses in the crucifix position. The goal is to hold the position for as long as possible. This stunt is extremely taxing on the muscles of the neck and shoulders. I had used many mobility products in the past to help recover from the demands and punishment that my body takes from performing, but never found long term success.

Enter the RAD Roller

The RAD Roller Stiff’s appearance is similar to having two lacrosse balls taped together. The RAD Roller has just the right amount of give to apply firm pressure, while allowing the muscles to relax at the same time. The creators of the RAD Roller designed it to replicate the touch of a therapists hands. It’s like being able to get a massage any time you need it.

By allowing the roller to move down from the neck into the spinal area, correct body posture and alignment are restored. The space between the balls allows for the back and shoulders to be worked without causing any damage or direct pressure to the spine itself. The benefits of proper body alignment will not only help you to feel better, but you’ll be moving better creating increased performance.

The RAD Roller provides relief not just with the neck and shoulders, but all over the body. You can remove restrictions caused by trigger points, fascia, and overuse with one great portable tool. By using the roller post-workout, you’ll also jump start your recovery by removing toxins and creating blood and lymph flow to and from the area of muscle trauma.

One of the key uses for the RAD Roller is prehab and injury prevention. By rolling out your abdominals, and other areas that get neglected, like your feet, you can help prevent serious injuries from occurring during your workouts. This is the perfect tool for those who want to have a long athletic career. I highly recommend the RAD Roller for those who not only want pain relief, but for those who want to take their performance to a higher level.

Pros:

• Portable
• Highly effective
• Easy to use
• Precision targeting of muscle and trigger points

Cons:

• None noted

Make the right gear choices:

Liquid Chalk: No Mess, No Dust, Serious Grip

The post Giving the RAD Roller the Strongman Test appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I remember the first time I tried using a lacrosse ball to massage my back. I felt as though I had discovered gold. Finally, I had found a tool that could get deep enough into the muscles in my back to provide some relief.

My History of Back Pain

At the time, I was dealing with a lot of back pain, which has continued on and off ever since. Sometimes the pain is due to an old, worn-out bed I’ve been forced to sleep on during travel, or sometimes it’s from rolling with a larger teammate in an intense roll with a bit too much pressure. Other times it is caused by sitting in an uncomfortable chair for too long. The pain extends from my SI joint to the base of my skull.

I’ve always had a foam roller, but I never found it got into those muscles surrounding my spine deep enough to give relief. It was useless for my neck. Perhaps I’m not heavy enough, or perhaps I wasn’t rolling correctly. Rolling on the wall with a lacrosse ball was a lot better, but it still wasn’t perfect. The pressure was too deep to use on the floor and the ball was hard to keep in place.

A New Discovery: The RAD Roller

I searched in the stores for a small device that could work both sides of the spine at once, but couldn’t find anything. An online search resulted in the discovery of the RAD Roller.This self-myofascial release tool looks like two lacrosse balls fused together, but it isn’t as hard as a lacrosse ball. The pressure of the tool is spread over a wider area as well, so it is still effective, but less intense.

The site description explains a bit more about the design. “The RAD Roller is, quite literally, designed around the spine, and is now being used by people of all walks of life to create relaxation and relief in nearly every muscle of the body.” It is made of 100% rubber in three different intensities: stiff, original, and soft. I was sent all three to review. Since they’ve arrived, I’ve had a RAD roller with me everywhere I go. I have one at work, one in my BJJ gear bag, and one in the gym backpack I keep in the trunk of my car.

Effectiveness

Since I began using the RAD Roller regularly, I haven’t had to miss any class time due to shoulder, neck, or back pain. When I get to Titans MMA, I roll out my neck, traps, shoulders, and pecs on the wall, then roll my abdominals and back out on the floor with the stiff roller.

Initially, I had planned on only using the RAD Roller for my spine, but a few weeks ago began to feel pain in my rotator cuff. I wrote about this issue in my review of the Bauerfeind OmoTrain shoulder support. When I felt the pain coming back, I was worried that I’d have to pull the brace out again.

That night in my hotel room, I focused the RAD Roller around my shoulders, traps, and neck and the pain disappeared. It came back again a week later, but I rolled it out the same way and added that area to my pre-training routine. I haven’t had issues since.

When my back feels sore during training, I roll it out again at the end of class and that’s usually enough to solve the problem. I should say that I have also avoided sleeping in beds that could cause trouble when I travel by sleeping in wheelchair accessible rooms (when they aren’t needed by people with special needs). These rooms aren’t used as much, and therefore have beds that are less worn out. In addition, when BJJ rolls are hard on my back, I slow it down and try to just flow until the end of the roll.

Another benefit to rolling out on the RAD roller is releasing toxins. Lymph and waste materials get trapped in the muscles and joints sometimes and once you roll them out, you can feel that same sensation of release that you get when you’ve had a good, long stretch.

Because the roller is so small, some of my teammates had issues with it getting caught up in their clothing while they rolled. I had the same issue when I wore looser clothing, so I made sure to roll when I was wearing tighter clothing or used it at home in a sports bra.

Although I focused on my upper body during my review, the RAD Roller was designed for use on all parts of the body. The site offers a PDF with instructions for elbows, hips, IT bands, calves, feet, and anything else that is causing problems. While they don’t claim to be able to cure any conditions, the RAD Roller was “designed by experts to closely replicate the touch of a trained massage therapist anytime and anywhere.” I can attest to the effectiveness of their design, and I hope it can help you, too.

The RAD Roller is available for $24.99 at RadRoller.com.

The post RAD Roller (Product Review) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Foam rolling is a self-myofascial release (SMR) technique used by athletes and physical therapists to aid in recovery of muscles that are prone to being overactive. Fascia is the soft tissue portion of the connective tissue in the muscle that provides support and protection. The fascia can become restricted due to overuse, trauma, and inactivity. Consequently, inflammation occurs and if it becomes bad enough the connective tissue can thicken, which results in pain and irritation, and additional inflammation.¹

Self-myofascial release techniques via foam roller are performed by rolling the foam roller under each muscle group until a tender area is found, and maintaining pressure by one’s own body mass on the tender area for 30–60 seconds.² A recent study was done to determine the effect of self-myofascial release (SMR) via foam roller application on knee extensor force and activation and knee joint range of motion.³

The study involved eleven healthy and physically active males. There were two groups that the subjects were divided into: control group (non SMR) and an SMR group. The maximum voluntary contraction force, evoked force and activation, and knee joint range of motion were measured two minutes and ten minutes prior to two, one minute trials of SMR of the quadriceps by use of foam rolle. These measurements were also taken on the non SMR group. The foam roller used was a custom made device made from PVC pipe and surrounded by neoprene foam.⁴

The results showed that nothing major occurred between either group for any of the neuromuscular variables (muscle force, rate of force development, and muscle activation). The foam roller group, however, experienced a significant increase in range of motion (ROM). A negative correlation was shown between subjects’ force and ROM before foam rolling that did not exist after foam rolling. In a nutshell, this study suggests that SMR of the quadriceps, or potentially any other muscle for that matter, was an effective treatment method to increase range of motion without suffering muscle performance. Only two minutes of foam rolling displayed increases in the range of motion in the quadriceps muscles.⁵

This study is one of the first peer reviewed studies on SMR, and it proved what many bodybuilders and powerlifters have been preaching for some time – foam rolling works. Not only can it help improve joint range of motion and overall muscle recovery, it does so without sacrificing muscle performance and strength. Perhaps the biggest benefits of SMR are that it can be done entirely by the individual and is very efficient in that it can take as little as 30-60 seconds to target the desired muscle group.

The post Does Foam Rolling Really Work? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.