I ran across on of these in Target one day several years ago. I bought out of pure curiosity, had no idea really how it worked. The roller came with a dvd which helped a lot in seeing what could be done with it. I can't believe all those years before not having one. They help so much with recovery and warming up. I eventually made one out of pvc with rubber glued around because the foam wasn't hard enough anymore.
Buy the blue pro version. It will last a long time.
What are the advantages to buying an actual foam roller? I just bought a 2' PVC drain pipe that I use.
I HATE FOAM ROLLERS! THEY SUCK!
...that being said, I use mine at least a couple times a day. Mine only cost $20 so it was money well spent.
Good product
" I HATE FOAM ROLLERS! THEY SUCK!" Yea, I hear ya LiftStrong, they hurt so good! Once I used it more often, err it stiilll hurt a little,lol, but in a good way.
"I just bought a 2' PVC drain pipe that I use. "Dizz, I did the same thing. I got a precut pvc pipe at HD and glued an old yoga mat to it. It works great, I even will take it on trips.
The funny thing about the roller is, if you put one in front of most people, they have no idea what to do with it. I was that way. I bought it and let it sit around for months until I popped in the dvd.
How do you know when you have hot a knot and not just a tendon or bone? 
Cheggers - How do you know when you have hot a knot and not just a tendon or bone? <img src="/images/phone/post_tag.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
Most of my knots come up in the belly of my hamstring, so it's pretty clear they're knots and not anything else. Ditto my quads and calves.
Oooh, the "joy" of the foam roller. I find it very very helpful in regards to staying healthy when I'm putting in a lot of running. I use it on my shins, calves, and IT bands. I also use a lacrosse ball to dig in in more detail, like for plantar fasciitis prevention.
I use different diameter pvcs to really get in to the nooks and crannies. There is a lot of info on youtube on how to use them. They definitely help you stay loose. In the beginning it is a little painful, but go slow and stick to using one and things will loosen up.
meh... another fitness fad.
I use it at the gym not just for rubbing the muscle, but as a sort-of heavy bag on the floor, going from mount to side-mount, to north-south, knee on belly, and so on, working on technique and conditioning. Since my exercise gym does not have heavy bags on the floor like your mma school might, and the floors are too hard to roll with live people, the foam roller makes a great substitute.
It's not about whether you get sore or not, it's basically a type of self massage and working out adhesions. It's great for injury prevention and can also help with flexibility and range of motion issues.
Sure - sticky tape between your tissues, preventing them from proper full range of motion, in fact. It's what yoga and stretching are all about - breaking up the fascia to restore proper movement.
Or if you'd like to thing of it another way, you can call it "fuzz" --
Am I the only one who got hungry watching that video?
"rvboy - meh... another fitness fad."
Myofacial release is definitely not a fad. It has been around for a long time. My sister and sister inlaw are both physical therapists. They laughed when I thought I had found this new way of warming up.They had been using the technique for years. I highly recommend trying it out!
I luv my SMR!
... but I hate it as well.
I've got one which I use sometimes, but partly because everyone else raves about them so much. I don't think I actually feel 'better' for using it or anything.
Any top tips for getting the most out of it?
thanks a lot for that video; definitely an eye opening for me. but now i have a question, since its actually good to stretch in the morning like cats do, isn't that going against the norm of not stretching while the body hasn't warmed up yet?
TTT for later.