Benefits

The foam roller and lacrosse ball are amazing tools to help loosen up the myofascia in our body. This allows you to perform your movements with ease and less restrictions.

What is Myofascia?

Myofascia is the fascia around our muscles. To understand what this is, think about a spider web. The same way that the web is reactive and considered a single piece is how fascia is in our body and around our muscles. The purpose of fascia is to be elastic and mobile to make movement efficient. These properties tend to get affected due to inflammation in the body, scarring, and physical and emotional trauma.

What muscles do I use with the foam roller and Lacrosse ball?

The foam roller is great for targeting the bigger muscles of the body. The lacrosse ball is great for digging in to smaller, specified musculature of the body, like the upper back and glute. You get a deeper stimulation and great return from the experience.

When & How to Foam Roll

It is great to foam roll before a workout, before your day starts, before a performance (modeling, going on stage to perform or photo shoot), and right before bed.

Some rules. When foam rolling:

1. Roll near the middle of the muscle to loosen up the belly of the muscle. You want to avoid foam rolling closer to the ends of the joints because it means you are nearing the tendons.
2. Before workouts or events: have moderate tempo to help excite the muscle and central nervous system.
3. Before Bed: The tempo can be slower to excite your parasympathetic nervous system, which is our “rest and digest” system. It’ll put you in a relaxed state to get ready for a great night’s sleep.

Full Body Foam Roller/ LAX ball Circuit

Below is a foam rolling circuit you can perform before or after your workout, in the morning and before bed.

Overview

Main Muscles to Roll: Foam Roller: Quads, Calves, Lats,

Muscles to use the Lacrosse Ball: Glutes, Upper Back & Pec

Benefits: increased mobility, increased blood flow & decreased risk of injury

Recommended Foam Roller: Trigger Point Foam Roller

Recommended Lacrosse Ball: Amazon Lacrosse Ball

2. VELAband

Price

VELAband: $30

Use code ‘FEVER” at checkout for 15% off

Final Price: $25

Benefits

The VELAband is the go-to resistance band for squats, lateral band walks, and hip bridges that does not break, rip, roll up or dig into your skin when you use it. It is the “go-to” resistance band for travel, gym and home workouts. The design (urban camouflage) makes it stand out wherever you are making it a functional accessory with style.

The tension of the band is similar to the black rubber resistance bands with none of the fuss. Correct your squat pattern, increase resistance on body-weight movements and make progress on yourself in style.

When to use the VELAband

The VELAband is great to use when you are looking to advance your bodyweight movements and are not yet ready for barbells, kettlebells, etc. Another great use for it is for the more intermediate and advanced lifters who is short on time or has a long workout ahead of them. The VELAband allows you to do a dynamic warmup so that you can get “under the bar” sooner and save time.

Exercises:

Squats

Hip bridges

3. Physio-ball

Price

Amazon: ~$20

Benefits

The physio-ball is great for developing strength in your hamstrings, and performing core and stability exercises. Most phyiso-balls come with pumps so if you truly needed to, you can deflate the ball and put it in your closet to save space when its not being in use.There are many different colors, go for what color you like and start on your path to better fitness.

Exercises

Below are some exercises you can do with your physio-ball. Ive put some core and hamstring exercises for you to perform.

1) Deadbugs (Core)

2) Stir The Pots (Core)

3) Stability Ball Rollouts (Hamstrings)

4. Yoga Mat:

Price: ~$15

Retailer: Amazon

Now the yoga mat is a must! For most people foam rolling at home, you may have a hardwood floor or tiles so rolling out on the ground may be painful. The yoga mat is to help alleviate any external forces that may distract you from exercising.  Use it to stretch on, lay on when doing your bridges or physio-ball work. It is also very easy to roll up and put in a closet.

Wrap Up

Now that we have our top four accessories, make sure to put them to good use. The best way to get on ROI (return on investment) on your body is to actually USE everything that you just bought. They wont do you any good just looking at them. Get up and get the results you’ve envisioned by putting in that consistent work.

Conclusion

Questions/ Comments/ Concerns

I would love to hear your thoughts on the workout. If you have any questions regarding performing the workouts properly, reach out, I’m here to serve.

For more information or questions on anything related to fitness or a shout out, email me at raphy@thevelaproject.com.

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