There for a while I was foam rolling at least once a week but I stopped and haven’t done it in a while. So when I did Michelle Briehler‘s 25 Min Recovery Workout // Foam Rolling & Stretching this morning, the foam rolling did not feel good. In fact, it felt like my muscles were all knotted up! I really need to get back to regular foam rolling. I was doing it so frequently before that the discomfort had decreased. Now it is back full force! The first half of this workout is foam rolling that focuses on the lower body and back. The last half of the workout is flexibility and mobility. This is a really nice recovery day workout. My body definitely needed it this morning. I did finish this off with a deeper yoga stretch with Sara Beth, which rounded out my recovery day workout perfectly.
25 Min Recovery Workout // Foam Rolling & Stretching is 27:34 minutes; 45 second intro, 13 minutes of foam rolling and 13 minutes of stretching and mobility. The last minute is Michelle talking. Equipment: foam roller, pilates ball and fitness mat. There is a bar at the top right hand corner of the screen counting down the workout time as a percentage.
Foam rolling:
- Stand holding the foam roller in front of you, one hand on each end, roll your shoulders
- Inhale while raising foam roller overhead and arching spine then lower as you exhale
- Hinge torso forward slightly and lower in a semi-squat, reach arms/foam roller to shoulder level then lower and raise out of squat
- Stand with legs wide, raise arms/foam roller overhead and lean to the side into a side bend, hold briefly then repeat on other side
- Get down on mat with foam roller under one quad and roll it out; rotate leg to roll out your IT band (outer thigh/hip) and inner thigh
- Repeat #5 on other leg
- Sit on bottom and place foam roller under one calf and roll out the calf; place other calf over shin to add more weight so you can roll deeper into the calf muscle
- Repeat #7 on other leg
- Move foam roller under one hamstring and roll it out
- Sit on foam roller and lean to side so all of your weight is on one glute and roll it out; cross ankle over knee to get deeper into the glute; place both feet on mat and lay back, rolling out the low back
- Repeat #10 on other leg/glute
- Place both feet on mat and foam roller behind mid back, lift glutes and roll out spine from mid back to upper back and neck
Stretch & mobility: (13:34)
- Sit on mat with legs wide and straight, side bend placing forearm on mat beside knee and reach other arm overhead; rotate torso so you are facing the top of your leg and hinge forward, nose toward knee, reaching for foot; repeat on other leg
- Still sitting with legs wide, bend one knee and place sole of foot against inner thigh, hinge forward over straight leg, reaching for foot; repeat on other leg
- Kneel on mat, one knee on mat, other leg open to side with foot on mat and knee bent at 90 degrees, place same side hand on floor next to foot, elbow pushing against knee and extend other arm to ceiling; swap arm positions, lower elbow of arm that was reaching to ceiling so that it is on mat in front of knee and reach other arm to ceiling
- Cat/cow
- Repeat #3 on other side of body
- Double kneeling on mat with glutes resting on heels, place one hand on mat beside hip, reach other arm overhead and into a side bend, flow side to side
- Sit on bottom with one leg extended in front of you, bend other knee so that calf is under hamstring and heel beside glutes with top of foot on mat, lean torso back to stretch quad (Michelle and friend are both laying back on the mat–this is not possible for me)
- Sit on bottom, one leg extended straight in front of you, bend other knee and bring sole of foot to mat on outside of extended leg, twist torso toward bent knee into a spinal twist
- Repeat #7 & 8 on other side of body
- Seated butterfly stretch
- Lay on back and place pilates ball under small of back, extend legs to ceiling, flex your feet and open legs wide in a V, point toes and bring legs together
- Same starting position as #11, scissor straight legs
- Same starting position as #11, lower one straight leg so it is a few inches off mat, rotate it out to side and up in a half circle to bring it back to start while opening other out to side in a half circle in the opposing direction so that leg is now a few inches off mat, continue drawing half circles with both legs in opposing directions
- Same starting position as #11 with legs straight and together, lower legs about 45 degrees, open legs as you bring them back to start so you are drawing a circle with legs; change direction so legs are together when you raise them and open legs when you lower them
- (set pilates ball aside) Lay on back on mat with knees bent and feet on floor, lower both knees to one side then the other
- Stand and reach arms overhead, palms together, extend arms back, arching spine
For more info on Michelle Brieher’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
