Foam Rolling Exercises for Running & Cycling Recovery

Many runners and cyclists deal with muscle and tendon soreness after a long session.

Foam rolling is an excellent way to relieve some of the soreness and stiffness from your muscles, helping them to relax and heal faster.

In this blog post, you’ll learn:

1. The benefits of using a foam roller to aid muscle and tendon recovery times;
2. Foam roller exercises for specific tendons and muscle groups that runners and cyclists struggle with; and
3. A closer look at BLACKROLL foam rollers for running and cycling recovery.

Benefits of foam rolling to aid muscle and tendon recovery times

We know about the benefits of a proper warm up before exercise, and cool down to help prevent injury. You can speed up your recovery from a strenuous workout by combining stretching with foam rolling.

A 2019 study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that foam rolling can “be a beneficial tool for recovery, regardless of the type of exercise performed”.

Here are some key benefits of foam rolling:

Improve flexibility

Cyclists and runners can often have tight muscles, especially the hip flexors and hamstrings. Foam rolling after a long session can help relax and elongate your muscles, giving you more flexibility and a better range of motion in your joints.

Relieve tension

Foam rolling increases local blood circulation and releases endorphins that reduce the tension in your muscles and can decrease muscle pain.

Boost performance

By relieving the fatigue, pain, and tension in your muscles, they can work together better, allowing you to push your performance to new speeds and distances.

Decrease injury risk

Keeping your muscles in top shape reduces your risk of serious injury. By keeping your muscles loose and flexible, there is less chance of muscle imbalances, inflammation, and other issues that can lead to injury.

Foam roller exercises for specific tendons and muscle groups that runners and cyclists struggle with

There are a variety of exercises you can do with a foam roller to get the benefits listed above.

Here at Orbit, we stock the range of market leading BLACKROLL foam rolling and massage tools which are ideal for helping cyclists and runners make a faster recovery.

Target the following tendon and muscle groups with these exercises:

Hamstrings

This exercise is great for both runners and cyclists. It can be used before or after your workout:

1. Start by sitting on the floor and supporting yourself with your hands.
2. Place the BLACKROLL STANDARD, DUOBALL, or BALL under your buttocks and shift your body weight onto it.
3. Slowly roll back and forth, shifting the foam roller from your buttocks to your knees as you roll.

Quadriceps

Here's another great foam rolling exercise for the legs:

1. Start by lying on the floor, face down.
2. Place the BLACKROLL STANDARD just above the knee.
3. Use your arms to push up and rock back and forth, moving the roller from the knees to the hips. To dig into your muscle more, lift one leg, putting all the pressure on the other while you rock back and forth.
4. Then switch sides.

Glutes

This exercise is a great way to get those tight butt muscles to relax after a hard ride or a long run:

1. Grab the BLACKROLL BALL and place it under your glutes in a sitting position
2. Put one leg on top of the other.
3. Support yourself with your hands and roll back and forth on your glutes.
4. Turn slightly to the side to work more parts of your gluteal muscles.

Calves

Your lower legs are just as important as your thighs. Here's a great exercise when you get those tight calf muscles after an intense workout:

1. Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front.
2. Put the BLACKROLL STANDARD under your right calf and bend your left leg, bringing your knee up and your heel close to the other knee.
3. Place your hands on the floor beside your buttocks and lift yourself off the floor.
4. Roll forward and backward so the roller moves underneath your calf.
5. Then switch sides and repeat.

Shins

Shin splints are detrimental to your workouts. If you're a runner, they are downright painful. 

Here's a way to relieve the tension in your shins:

1. Get down on all fours and keep your arms bent slightly.
2. Get up on your tiptoes, raising your knees off the floor.
3. Place the BLACKROLL STANDARD just below the knee of your left leg and roll back and forth, applying pressure as needed.
4. Switch sides and repeat.

Heels

Runner’s heel or plantar fasciitis is extremely common and caused by inflammation to the plantar fascia. This thick connective tissue runs along the bottom of your foot, joining your heel to your toes.

The plantar fascia massage is a great exercise to relieve pain from runner’s heel:

1. Grab the BLACKROLL MINI and put it on the floor in front of you.
2. Place the sole of your foot on the roller.
3. Slowly roll your foot back and forth.
4. Turn your foot on the inner and outer edges to focus on more parts of the fascia.

Free BLACKROLL App

BLACKROLL has a free fitness and recovery app with over 500 exercises. It also contains relaxing self-massage routines and training plans to target specific pain and tension.

Click the following link to learn more about the Free BLACKROLL app and start improving your daily fitness, posture flexibility, recovery and more.

A closer look at BLACKROLL foam rollers for running and cycling recovery

While we’ve covered some of the common problem areas affecting cyclists and runners, foam rollers can be used on many parts of the body.

Here’s a closer look at the BLACKROLL range:

BLACKROLL STANDARD

This is the standard foam roller that people are starting to see everywhere! It's a long cylinder shape and can be used for exercises on almost any body part. However, it's commonly used for the bigger leg muscles.

Click the following link to learn more about the BLACKROLL STANDARD.

BLACKROLL MINI

This foam roller is a smaller version of the STANDARD. It's fantastic to use on your feet, ankles, and arms.

Click the following link to learn more about the BLACKROLL MINI.

BLACKROLL TWISTER

A unique twist on foam rollers, the TWISTER has a knobby surface. It can be used for point-by-point stimulation of areas of tension throughout the body. It's perfect for pain points such as a runner's knee or tennis elbow.

Click the following link to learn more about the BLACKROLL TWISTER.

BLACKROLL BALL

The BALL helps relieve tension in specific pain points with precision. By placing it against a certain area of tension in your shoulder, neck, or buttocks, you can focus on individual hot spots in your muscles.

Click the following link to learn more about the BLACKROLL BALL.

BLACKROLL DUOBALL

The DUOBALL can help relieve tension along the lines of your muscles. It's fantastic for using to relax the muscles on both sides of the spine, tight hips, or around the Achilles tendon.

Click the following link to learn more about the BLACKROLL DUOBALL.

BLACKROLL BLOCK SET

At times, elevating certain body parts can help you target muscles better. By using this BLOCK, MINI, and BALL 08 SET, you can pinpoint trouble spots in your ankles, calves, and knees.

Click the following link to learn more about the BLACKROLL BLOCK SET.

If you're ready to try foam rolling to help speed up recovery from running or cycling, but aren't still sure where to start, we can help. 

Our team of fitness experts can assist you in determining which foam roller is right for you and individual exercises to help.

Why not call us on 1300 13 42 13 or email our team today to get started!