Knowing my obsession with
foam rolling and
yoga, my sister bought me what I now consider the greatest gift ever, the
Travel Roller
. The highlights:
- Hard plastic roller
- Three varying tension balls
- Compact design and easy to travel with (get your roll on anywhere)
- Made from earth friendly materials, TPE Foam
- Includes an instructional DVD from the creators who are both Kinesiology grads.
Admittedly I didn’t watch the videos until after I had been using it for weeks. No one knows my body better than I do and I enjoy trying to figure things out on my own at times. Rolling on top of the tennis ball sized tension balls provides localized pressure that I found really effective for targeting pain spots.
One of the ways I notice I’m evolving into a parent is in the things I buy and don’t buy for myself. Such is the case with this upcoming snowboarding season. Despite finally getting an opportunity to pick up the Craig Kelly inspired Burton Mystery with my instructor discount, I instead decide to update my HELMET (who am I?!). New snowboard money has been reallocated to the baby fund. :(
Though definitely not on the same level of awesome, the new RED Shaun White Hi-Fi Helmet is cool in a couple of ways:
While I continue to be a major proponent of foam rolling (and myofascial release in general), I needed some way to make this practice portable. I was on the hunt for a 12″ version of a foam roller when I stumbled across the Pro-Tec Athletics Roller Massager (acquired at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Buffalo, NY but available on Amazon
). Decided it was worth a shot since I was aware of trainers and professional athletes using something like this. I distinctly recall seeing Brett Lawrie on TV using it on his own quads while sitting in the dugout during a Toronto Blue Jays game.
Like the foam roller, you HAVE TO get one of these if you are active or if you have nagging chronic muscular pain (or if you have a body that moves at all). I find for some body parts it’s easier because you can use your hands, rather than rolling on top of something, which requires some balance and coordination. The trigger point ends are also quite useful and provide something different to rolling.
Best part? With a friend/partner you can roll each other.
If you’ve read other articles in this blog, you might know that once I like a particular product, I usually start collecting a variety of the same (e.g. shoes, gloves, snowboarding socks), such is the case with Nike Dri-Fit shirts. I find nothing more comfortable to play sports in. I hypothesize, for example, that I would shoot a lower percentage while playing basketball if I had to wear a regular cotton tank-top or t-shirt vs a Dri-fit shirt (because bio-mechanics would be restricted by clothes sticking to me). I also wear long sleeve Dri-fit shirts as a base layer when I snowboard because sweating leads to freezing.
Here’s another tip, I wear Dri-fit under my dress-shirt when I go to work. It’s been a hot and humid summer and I am noticeably more comfortable in the office when I have a dri-fit on. Put one on under your club gear when you go out on the town so you don’t end up a sweaty, hot mess.
After owning an Energetics foam roller for about 20 minutes, I felt like a blind man who could suddenly see. How could I not have had one of these all this time? If you do any kind of sport, you know that flexibility is critical to performance and injury prevention. The foam roller enhances your ability to stretch yourself. Ergo, if you partake in vigorous physical activity regularly, you should have one of these.
I picked mine up at the Fitness Source in Vaughan but SportChek has them as well. It’s a high-density foam cylinder, 36 inches by 6 inch diameter (like a short, fat, dense pool noodle). Decided to take it easy and get the softer one just to try it out but I hope to graduate to the more hardcore ones.
My daily routine now involves what I consider to be some kind of super yoga involving this foam roller. There seems to be no limit to which muscles you can stretch using it. Don’t forget your breathing!
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Interested in the science that is happening here? Try this link. It’s essentially a DIY deep tissue massage.
A short post to congratulate the New York Football Giants on winning another Superbowl. I’m lucky that I root for an NFL team that has had success in my lifetime, something I can’t say about any NBA teams that I’ve passionately cheered for. I’ve liked the Giants since I figured out how football is played while living in the Tri-State Area. It’s fortunate that not only does my wife enjoy watching football as much as I do, she may be an even bigger Giants fan that I am. I have never seen the Giants play in the Meadowlands, old or new, whereas she sat in MetLife Stadium through the entire last game that the Giants lost this season (yes that putrid effort against the Redskins). (I first took her to see the Giants live in Ford Field, Detroit in 2007, that team also won the Superbowl).
I like to consider myself an educated fan and as such I like to root for athletes I perceive to be intelligent and humble (I have no idea what these guys are like in their day-to-day lives but they come across as men of substance). For example, my favorite basketball player is Steve Nash. A sweet passing game is a beautiful thing to behold and makes teammates better. Not only is he a two time NBA MVP, he plays soccer, makes films (including a great ESPN documentary on Canadian Terry Fox) and even skateboards. Also a very socially conscious individual.
The New York Giants were blessed by the football gods to get Eli Manning. Early in his career he was perceived to be disinterested because of his body language and quiet personality, even called out by teammate Tiki Barber. But it seems that calm demeanor serves him just fine. His performance in the 4th quarter of the two biggest games he’s played allowed him to succeed where others might have folded under pressure. He doesn’t comes across as an arrogant professional athlete or diva like other NFL players. I don’t recall seeing him throw a fit when a receiver drops a pass or runs the wrong route or someone misses a block. In interviews, he always credits his team before himself. It’s documented that he goes beyond mandatory meetings and leads his own film sessions with his receivers.
His and hers Eli Manning jerseys.
Thanks Giants and Eli Manning for giving us a season we won’t soon forget.
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