Foam Rollers

Foam rollers

Foam rollers are used to improve blood circulation and can also reduce muscle aches and pains via self-massage. These inexpensive fitness buddies are best used to prepare your body for a workout, stretch out tight muscles, or help recovery afterwards.

They're relatively cheap – you can pick up foam rollers for around £10-£30. They come in various sizes and densities.

Most come with a brief sheet of suggested exercises to get you started, such as:

Calves – Sit on the floor with your legs extended. Place the foam roller at your calves, raise yourself off the ground slightly by pushing down and roll the foam roller forwards and backwards.

Hamstring – Start with the roller at the back of your knees. Raise yourself off the ground and use your hands to push yourself forwards and backwards.

Upper back – Place the roller underneath your shoulder blades, lift your hips and use your weight to apply pressure to the shoulders and roll gently backwards and forward, with your hands supporting your neck.When using a foam roller, work the roller from point A to point B slowly but firmly. Breathing deeply will help you keep a nice rhythYou'll get better results if you use it multiple times a week. If you feel pain, you're likely putting pressure on a tense area – repeating the process over time will make things more comfortable, but ease off if it's painful.