Rumble Roller, where have you been all my life?

Along with some insanely awesome workouts, medicine balls, and a stability ball, P90X2 also comes with a foam roller.

A what?

Yeah, I've never heard of it before now either. And I'm upset about it, because foam rolling is pure, cylindrical awesomeness.

The technical term for what you do with the foam roller is self-myofascial release. Basically you roll your body parts on it for a heck of a massage. But here's a technical write-up by Dr. Mark Cheng (who has a fantastic-looking Tai Chi workout due to be released by Beachbody in a few months):

"SMFR stands for Self-Myofascial Release, a rather long and fancy word for self-massage. As muscles work, they generate metabolic wastes, such as lactic acid. As those wastes build up in the muscles, they create a balloon effect, making the muscles swell up. While a larger muscle certainly might look cosmetically appealing, the congestion in the muscle tends to make its fascial envelope stretch taut, unable to contract more fully or relax more freely until the extra fluid is moved out. Light massage techniques, such as Swedish, serve to help push these metabolites out of the muscle bed, allowing for a quicker recovery and return to training.

Muscles that "knot up" have trigger points. Trigger points tend to be indicative of more chronic problems, either in movement or posture or exertion. These trigger points can occur at different depths, depending on which section of the muscle is being engaged most with the movements or exercises that are being performed. The fascial membrane that surrounds muscles or the muscle fibers themselves can contract. When the body senses that the level of exertion is above the contractile strength or endurance of the myo (muscular) or fascial tissues involved, the body knots up those fibers as a survival strategy. The only problem with that strategy is that those knots inhibit movement and cause pain."

There are two types of foam roller available.We didn't order the super duper deluxe P90X2, so we got a regular old foam roller, which works great.

But for Christmas we asked for a Rumble Roller, which comes in the ultimate P90X2 kit. And the Rumble Roller? It'll knock your socks off. Those little nubby fingers dig deep into your muscles, and it hurts...so good.

 

I should note that whenever I get a professional massage I ask for "hard" pressure, and one of my favorite past times is finding someone to dig their elbow into that spot between my shoulder blade and spine. The harder the better! I won't have to do that anymore thanks to the Rumble Roller.

More thoughts from Dr. Cheng: 

"Foam rolling helps address the problems of muscle congestion and trigger points by mechanically pressing into the muscle. That said, there are different types of rollers that best address the different problems you might face. A smooth, soft roller is generally more effective for the more superficial trigger points and for moving the metabolites out of congested muscles. A roller with uneven surfaces, such as the RumbleRoller^™, is ideal for getting into the deeper trigger points and more deep tissue approaches.

If you're someone who tends to like deep pressure in a massage, go for the RumbleRoller. If deeper pressure tends to be too uncomfortable for you, go for the smoother roller. The important thing to remember in self-myofascial release is that rolling can feel uncomfortable at the outset. When you find the muscles that are congested or triggered up, the pressure of the roller may cause a bit of discomfort. Roll your body just to the edge of the discomfort. Focus on relaxing the muscles on the roller and breathe. As your nervous system responds to the pressure, it will learn to relax the trigger points on the roller and restore the contractile ability of the muscle."

It looks like foam rolling is part of the warm up in each P90X2 routine, and I can't wait to see what it does for my mobility.

Check out the Rumble Roller for yourself on Amazon, or start P90X2 with us on Jan. 2! Challenge groups are being formed NOW! Contact me if you want in on one.

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