Massage and Stretch Hard-to-Reach Muscles, Break Apart Fascial Adhesions

Who likes Foam Roll/Stretch classes? 

Are your muscles tight from sitting all day at work, or maybe after a big workout? Is your body showing signs of muscle contraction, like rounded shoulders, weak hips or cramped legs? If any of this sounds familiar, then you want to take this class. Men and women looking for ways to relax their body and muscles and increase their flexibility can find a solution here. Maybe you want to recover from a strenuous workout, or you need a basic recovery from the daily stresses of life. Come roll and stretch with us.  

What is a Foam Roll/Stretch class? 

This class is just like it sounds – it uses a large foam roll to help you massage and stretch those hard-to-reach muscles so you can feel more comfortable. Mostly for relaxation and muscle recovery, this class is far from intense. Wear clothes you can move around in comfortably because plenty of stretching is involved. 

In the aerobics studio, you’ll be on the floor with a foam roller. Willis-Knighton provides large, 36-inch foam rollers or you can bring your own. Some rollers have a different firmness; tighter muscles need a roller that is firmer. Class beginners usually start with a roller that is less firm, or a softer roller. The roller you choose is used to perform a strategic series of movements that help you relax certain muscles in the body.  

Your instructor leads exercises to work one muscle group at a time, like your back muscles, your hips or pelvic muscles, and your leg muscles. Foam Roll/Stretch exercises extend the thoracic spine, or the middle section. We spend a lot of time flexing our spines hunched over a steering wheel, computer or smartphone. Back pain and rounded shoulders are tell-tale signs. These exercises help open up your chest and body so you can sit up and stand up straight without being rounded forward. So much of our lives we spend in a flex position and we can reverse that with extended positions. Your body and your posture will thank you.  

We also carry tightness after an intense workout and our muscles produce lactic acid that makes us feel sore. Foam Roll-Stretch exercises help our muscles push out the lactic acid to prevent and relieve feelings of soreness.  

Expect to stretch all back muscles – your trapezius, shoulders, upper-, mid- and lower-back. To roll your mid- and upper-back muscles, you’ll lay on the foam roller with it positioned horizontally, or perpendicular, to your spine. You'll place the roller toward the upper part of your back. Bend your knees with your feet flat on the floor. Slowly lift your hips up off the floor and use your feet to control the roll front to back to massage the muscles that surround your spine. This allows for greater flexion and extension, or the bending, of your spine.  

As far as your hips, Foam Roll/Stretch exercises help release your hip flexors that are compressed when sitting most of the day at a desk.  

Moving down to your legs, you’ll do guided exercises to relax your quads, hamstrings and calves. 

While you may occasionally do other upper body exercises, this class mostly works your larger muscles in the legs and the back. A fun twist might be if the instructor guides you to place your face on the roller to relax the jaw. You won’t look so stressed, and this could even help with some headaches.  

The Foam Roll/Stretch class is not prechoreographed. Light background music will play that also helps you relax. 

When and where does the Foam Roll/Stretch class meet? 

Classes are held in the aerobics studio at WK Fitness & Wellness Centers. Check the interactive class schedule to find the current location, day and time that works for you. Foam Roll/Stretch meets for 50 minutes each week.  

Why do Foam Roll/Stretch? 

Improve posture, increase blood flow, improve mobility, recover from athletics, release muscle tightness – these are some of the many benefits of this one exercise tool. Use a foam roller to relax your muscles and break apart fascial adhesions throughout your body. Fascia is the very thin layer of connective tissue woven throughout your entire body as it surrounds and supports every organ, muscle, bone and blood vessel. Fascia holds it all in place, kind of like a scaffolding. Adhesions are a scar tissue that can disrupt the normal function of your muscles and nerves.  

Foam Roll/Stretch benefits the body’s musculoskeletal system, lengthens connective tissues and is even good for your spine. Members say they feel better, less stressed, relaxed and ready for life after this class! 

Beginner

Willis-Knighton provides large, 36-inch foam rollers or you can bring your own.