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Increasingly popular, foam rollers can be a useful addition to anyone's home workout program, allowing you to work your abs, perform exercises from yoga and Pilates workouts, and massage sore muscles to relieve pain and reduce the risk of injury.
Foam rollers are an inexpensive addition to your home gym, with a wide range of uses. These days they are commonly used for Pilates core work, by trainers to improve balance for sports, and in physiotherapy to reduce muscle soreness. They have a number of benefits:
- Reducing muscle tension
- Improving balance
- Improving flexibility
- Strengthening core muscles and stability
They are also an excellent way of self massaging areas that are tight or tender. They can be particularly effective when used on areas that are hard to reach, for example:
- The upper and lower back
- The calf muscles
- The hamstrings (back of the thigh)
- The glutes (butt muscles!)
- The quads (front of the thigh)
- The ITB (illiotibial band) - this is a band that runs down the outside of the upper leg and is often a problem for runners
If you're not sure exactly how to use one, be sure to also get an instructional video or DVD.
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