After last weekend’s race shenanigans I felt all sorts of “off”. My foot was bothering me a little, my back was talking to me, and I was exhausted. Combine that with a short and busy week and I knew I needed to take it easy. I decided to go back to basics. What exactly does that mean? I thought to myself, if I went back to any of my PTs and described these symptoms, what would they have me do?
Back to Basics
My answer was that they would probably do soft tissue work and have me do the same at home, plus start with basic core exercises. So that’s what I did. Every day this week I focused on foam rolling, mobility, and core work. I also did a little walking and some running over the weekend.
This week I totally slacked on taking pictures. I mean, how many pictures of a foam roller can I take? But I think this week was exactly what I needed. There are also some things starting this week that will hopefully help me to get healthy again which I will share in another post.
Rather than listing out “foam rolling” seven times, I thought I would share some links to other posts I have done about foam rolling, mobility, and core work. Hopefully next week I will be back to my regular workouts!
Foam Rolling and Core Work Links
Beyond Foam Rolling: Using Self-Myofascial Release Strategically to Prevent Injury
8 Ways for Runner to Improve Mobility
Get Your Core Ready to Run Workout
Core Stability Exercises
When was the last time you took a few days or a week to just “reset”?
Do you foam roll every day?
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Always super smart to go back to the basics every now and then. I’m trying to come up with a quick but effective 5-10 post run stretching routine and a lot of it will be “just the basics”! I hope that your back and foot are feeling better after all of your foam rolling and stretching last week!
Thanks! I definitely think it helped. Its always good to have a basic go-to post run routine.
I have definitely been better about foam rolling while doing my regeneration therapy! I keep one foam roller out in my home gym and I have another one out in my home office so between the two, I have no excuse not to use it once per day! I hope your foot calms down again soon. Have you tried your orthotics, yet? I am 2 months out of running but hope that I will be able to come back in about 2 more weeks! I’m on the tail end of the protocol so fingers crossed.
I’m FINALLY supposed to get my orthotics at the end of the week. Thats so exciting that you should be back to running soon!
It’s called a cut back week, and we all need them, at every stage and level of activity! Glad you were smart about it.
So true. It can be easy to forget to take a cut back week when you’re not running much to begin with!
I still don’t use my Rumble Roller on a regular basis. I use my other hard one but those teeth things just hurt! Last week was a reset for me as well.
The rumble roller is pretty painful! I can only use it on certain areas. I have plenty of different options for all the different spots!
I need to get on my foam roller! I’m cutting back this week as well–did the bike on Sat and just some short runs the last couple of days. Good thing, too, because it’s all I’ve got!
It’s so important to cut back when our bodies (and/or minds) are telling us they need a break!
I think we all need those weeks of just basics to maintain those muscle groups and prevent any further injury.
Definitely! Even when I’m not running much I think all the working out is harder on my body than I realize.
I probably don’t foam roll nearly enough! I usually only take it out when I have a spot that I feel more than usual.
Well you stay healthy so I guess you don’t really need it! Its good that you use it when something feels tight!
I bet a week of basics really helped out! Last week all I did was 3 runs and they were only 2 miles each so it almost felt like an off week. I haven’t seen my PT in a while. I’m sort of looking forward to seeing him this week.
I hope you get some answers when you see your PT!
I am so bad at foaming rolling. When I do it I do not feel like it even helps. Maybe because I do not do it often. I need to work on that!
I feel like the foam rolling helps certain areas more than others. I think the more you do it the better you get at hitting those tight spots.
This is gonna sound dumb but the only thing I really ever use the foam roller for is my back! I roll my spine along it and it cracks a bunch of times and feels amazing. Whenever I foam roll tight muscles I end up making them even more sore and injured! I hope you’re feeling better and more settled and that your reset button has been pushed so that you can enjoy the rest of the long weekend!
That doesn’t sound dumb at all! I love using the foam roller on my back. If thats where you feel it, then that makes sense. I just have so many other places that get tight so I try to be consistent about using it.
I need more foam rolling myself this week!
I hope you make some time for it! It feels so good!