20 Minute Foam Roller Stretch | SHRED – DAY 21

This is my first workout by Sidney Cummings. She has been recommended me by so many people. I have previewed her workouts before but they never grabbed me and made me want to try them, but now that I am searching for recovery level mobility and foam rolling workouts, I decided to give some of her workouts a try. She has quite a few foam rolling workouts. This is a good one. I really like her focus on the upper body. So far, of the instructors I’ve tried who show you foam rolling, they all do it differently and I like the different modalities. Sidney has you hold positions in trigger release fashion. Other trainers have you primarily rolling, massage fashion. I have two foam rollers. For this workout I used my rumble roller with little nobs on it. This was perfect since she has you holding most of the poses. The little nobs dig into the muscle and fascia. I found the areas that needed it the most then let the discomfort ensue! For most of the areas I did get a nice release. I plan to try some more of her foam rolling and other recovery level workouts.

20 Minute Foam Roller Stretch is 23:27 minutes; 1:30 minute intro and the last 1:30 minute is Sidney giving more instruction on foam rolling. Equipment: foam roller and fitness mat. There is a timer in the upper right hand corner of the screen counting down total workout time.

1. Lay on mat with foam roller under shoulders/upper back, arch back, place hands behind head to open chest (let head hang)
2. Change the position of the foam roller so it is in line with your spine, lay spine on foam roller (glutes are on mat, head and upper spine is on foam roller) and open arms out to sides; lift hips off mat and roll side to side, massaging muscles around spine with foam roller; keep roller to left side of spine and hold there; keep roller on right side of spine and hold it there
3. Place foam roller horizontal again, lean back on foam roller with feet on mat, lift glutes and roll foam roller up and down spine until you find the most tender spot then hold that position; repeat looking for another spot
4. Repeat #1 but this time with arms extended overhead, hands resting on mat, back of head on mat
5. Lay on side with foam roller below arm pit (lats) and roll forward and backwards until you find a tender spot then hold; move foam roller a bit lower and hold
6. Still laying on side but with arm against side and shoulder on foam roller, roll up and down your arm until you find a spot then hold; find another spot on your shoulder and hold
7. Kneel on mat and place top of forearm on roller, place other hand on top of inner forearm to apply pressure and roll arm up and down; flip arm so inner forearm is on foam roller and repeat
8. Repeat #5-7 on other side of body
9. Place glutes on foam roller with hands and feet on mat, shift to side so one glute is on roller then roll foam roller back and forth under glute until you find a tender spot then hold; repeat on other glute
10. Place foam roller under hamstrings, hands on mat behind you, lift glutes off mat and roll foam roller back and forth the length of the hamstrings; cross one calf over other shin to put pressure on one hamstring and hold; repeat hold on other hamstring
11. Rest forearms on mat with foam roller under quads, roll foam roller up and down length of quads until you find a tender spot then hold; start rolling again to find another spot and hold

For more info on Sidney Cummings and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.