Do you foam roll?

MostlyWater

As exercise or more as stretching? I'm just getting started!

quiksylver296

No. I found it doesn't help much. I stretch my problem areas like hamstrings and achilles.

invaderbree

i foam roll after lifting. helps with soreness for me.

AnnPT77

I look at it more as a stretching-like thing, with feel-good and maybe some small recovery benefits, but that doesn't necessarily make it not exercise? I don't log it as a separate exercise if I do just a bit of it, but if I do a long stretching session that I want to log, I'd include the foam rolling time in the total time if I did some in the session. There's a "stretching" entry in the MFP cardio exercise database, with a quite low calorie estimate per minute that covers that kind of thing OK, IMO.

If you try it and find it pleasant or helpful, it really doesn't matter if you call it an exercise or something else (stretching or whatever), does it? Technically, you can log pretty much any movement in MFP as exercise, but people who claim exercise calories for every movement throughout the day can end up double counting calories that are already in their base activity level (like routine house chores).

Whether to log foam rolling as exercise is really a question of whether it's numerically meaningful to you for the calories, or worth logging to record the fact that you did that exercise-related activity.

MostlyWater

ah, i see. thanks for responding.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I've done it, but I find it awkward. I can't put all my weight on my quads, so I'm sort of draped over the thing.

My alternative has been "ball against the wall" rolling. It works incredibly well for my problem areas which are hips, IT, and lower/upper back.

SavageMrsMoose

I did it pretty consistently when I was training for a recent marathon. The Peloton app has some foam rolling classes. It can really hurt if your not careful and it works your core as well. Its also awkward, but if you have a really tight area that needs special help, its great. I'm not so sure about calorie burn, but it helped me recover for my next workout.

Womona

I always use the foam roller before I do any kind of workout as part of my movement prep. Sometimes it feels great, other times it’s hateful! Haha!

Alpha12

I just started for a tight IT band that started causing me significant lower back pain. It can be painful while I roll the tight spots, but I find an almost immediate relief after I'm done.

MostlyWater

thanks for responding!