40 Minute Foam Roller Stretch is a foam rolling workout from GymRa lead by Kelsey Bolin (I think). I’m not positive about her last name. Kelsey is very personable and friendly. This is the longest and most thorough foam rolling workout I have done to date. It is excellent and I highly recommend it. It may become one of my go-tos. Kelsey hits everything–literally. She starts with your feet and works her way up to your neck. She even hits both the biceps and triceps. She does not hit the forearms but that is literally the only area she misses. And you spend adequate time on every muscle group. And when it is really uncomfortable? It feels like too much time! But seriously, she really massages out all of the kinks. She is of the trigger point school of foam rolling thought. You spend more time holding positions than rolling. But, of course, in the end it is up to you. I had a few muscle groups I couldn’t seem to find a tender point or knot so I ended up rolling slowly the entire time we were focused on the muscle group, looking for the trigger point unsuccessfully. But that is still good for my muscles and fascia, too. I did find plenty of trigger points though! I have a regular long foam roller like Kelsey’s and a shorter rumble roller covered with knobs that digs deeper. I used both of foam rollers depending on the muscle group and what it needed. Kelsey mentioned two more foam rolling practices she created, one focused on the lower body and one on the upper body. I plan to eventually check them both out.
40 Minute Foam Roller Stretch is 41:19 minutes; 1:30 minute intro. Equipment: foam roller, tennis ball and fitness mat. This workout is set outdoors with a sort of lagoon and running water behind Kelsey. It is set to low relaxing music and the sound of running water.
- Start standing, place tennis ball under foot and roll tennis ball from heel to top of foot and the sides until you find the trigger/tender point and hold it there 15-20 seconds then start rolling it along the sole of your foot again
- Repeat #1 on other foot
- Sit on mat with foam roller beneath calves, place hands on mat behind hips, raise hips off mat and roll out calves; turn toes out to sides and continue rolling; turn toes in toward each other and continue rolling; find a tender spot on one calf and hold, crossing other leg over top of focus leg to increase pressure; roll both calves out again then repeat the hold on other calf
- Place one foot on ground, both hands on ground and other shin rests on top of foam roller, roll the shin in this position; to increase pressure, bring front leg to mat behind you so body weight is on shin, find the tender spot and hold; continue rolling out the shin then repeat on other shin
- Sit on mat with foam roller under hamstrings, hands are on mat behind you, lift glutes off mat and roll out hamstrings (she shows a single leg version); when you find a tender spot on one leg, cross other leg over it to increase pressure and hold; repeat on other leg
- Lay on stomach on mat, one leg is extended straight and the other is bent and pulled up to side, place roller under thigh of bent leg and roll out inner thigh; find a tender spot and hold; repeat on other leg
- Come into a plank with hands on mat and roller under quads, roll from just above knees to just below pelvis; find a tender spot on one leg and hold, cross other leg over top to increase the pressure; roll out both quads again then repeat the hold on the other leg
- Get into a sort of modified side plank with outside of bottom leg resting on foam roller, top leg is bent with foot in front of you, bottom hand is on mat, roll up and down the outside of your thigh, staying away from your knee joint (IT band); find a tender spot and hold; repeat on other leg
- Sit on foam roller with hands on mat behind you, roll out your glutes; stretch one leg out straight and lean torso back more so there is more pressure on one glute, continue rolling; cross one ankle over other knee, pull knee toward you and lean onto glute of crossed leg, roll out one side of glutes until you find a tender spot and hold; repeat this entire sequence–rolling out both glutes then focus on other glute
- Lay on back on mat with knees bent and feet on mat, raise hips into bridge and slide foam roller under low back, find a tender spot then extend legs out straight with heels on mat and arms extended to sides in a T and hold (you do not do any actual rolling)
- Sit on mat and place foam roller behind upper back, wrap arms around you so you are hugging yourself, hands on opposite shoulders, lift hips and roll out upper back/rhomboids; find a tender/tight spot and hold
- Lay on foam roller so back of head down to glutes are all on foam roller, arms are relaxed at sides with back of hands on mat; lift arms so they are in goal post, backs of hands on mat, palms facing ceiling; extend arms overhead, backs of hands still resting on mat
- Lay on side with one hip on mat and foam roller under arm, bottom arm is extended over the foam roller, find a tender spot in your lats and hold; repeat on other side
- Lay on stomach with foam roller in front of you, place the triceps of one arm on the foam roller and roll until you find a tender spot and hold, bringing hand to shoulder, elbow bent
- Still laying on stomach, bring foam roller beside you and lay bicep on foam roller, roll until you feel a tender spot and hold
- Repeat #14 & 15 on other arm
- Sit cross leg on the mat and press the tennis ball against your chest, women roll the ball (with pressure) along the top of the breasts, into the chest muscles, men can obviously roll it all over chest, when you find a tight spot, press the ball into that area
- Lay on back with foam roller under neck and roll your neck side to side
For more info on GymRa and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
