GoFit Revolve Foam Roller Review

I’m an enormous fan of foam rolling to launch muscle rigidity, however I discover it’s normally more practical for my decrease physique than my chronically tight upper back and shoulders. That’s primarily as a result of the sore muscle tissue in these areas, particularly across the shoulder blades, may be exhausting to hit in simply the correct spots. Flat foam rollers don’t at all times attain these upper-body nooks and crannies, whereas the raised factors on grid rollers may be too intense or put stress on the incorrect locations (ouch!).

However as a health author, I do know there’s a wealth of analysis displaying utilizing a foam curler can enhance muscle soreness, flexibility, and efficiency. As an example, 20 minutes of froth rolling on a high-density curler instantly and 24, 48, and 72 hours post-exercise was discovered to boost restoration and scale back muscle tenderness as a consequence of delayed onset muscle soreness, based on a 2015 study¹ within the Journal of Athletic Training.

My quest to seek out an efficient approach to foam roll my higher physique took a brand new flip after I tried the GoFit Revolve Roller, a curler with adaptive therapeutic massage rings you possibly can change as much as create a novel number of ridges and patterns designed to focus on even hard-to-reach muscle tissue. Might this newest innovation be an answer for my ongoing higher physique tightness?

Learn on to seek out out extra concerning the significance of froth rolling on your higher physique, why it may be difficult, and my expertise making an attempt the GoFit Revolve Curler.

The advantages of froth rolling your higher physique

Foam rolling is an effective way to launch muscle rigidity, promote higher mobility, and improve blood circulation that helps muscle restoration, says Ramon Felix, CPT, founding father of Stretchergy.com, a mobility and suppleness on-line platform. In relation to your higher again, foam rolling additionally has a protecting impact.

“By relieving tightness within the higher again, foam rolling protects the shoulder joints, as overly tight muscle tissue can pull the shoulder blades upward probably inflicting ache, discomfort, and even shoulder impingement,” says Felix.

However concentrating on your rhomboid muscle tissue (situated between your shoulder blades) and your rear deltoids (working from the again your the shoulders to your higher arms) may be difficult with an ordinary curler due to the muscle tissue’ smaller measurement and deeper placement, explains Felix.

Neck rigidity can even contribute to a decent higher again and shoulders. “The trapezius and levator scapulae muscle tissue, which connect to the neck, could cause discomfort when they’re shortened,” Felix says. “Foam rolling the higher again and shoulders might help launch these muscle tissue, decreasing neck ache.”

Tight biceps (entrance of your higher arm) and lats (just under your shoulder blades) can even spherical your shoulders and elevate your shoulder blades, negatively affecting your neck and posture, explains Felix. “Tending to those areas with a foam curler can not directly relieve neck tightness,” he says.

How one can use a foam curler in your higher physique

For hard-to-reach higher again and shoulder muscle tissue, Felix suggests utilizing a higher-density or grid foam curler—the GoFit Revolve Curler is mainly an adaptable mixture of the 2. “As an alternative of rolling forwards and backwards, lie on the curler till you find a young spot, then maintain stress for about 30 seconds to launch rigidity and enhance blood circulation,” he advises.

As a result of extreme foam rolling can irritate muscle tissue and worsen ache, Felix recommends foam rolling three to 5 instances per week, spending a median of 1 to 2 minutes on every muscle group. Athletes or these with bodily demanding jobs may profit from foam rolling 5 to 6 days per week, he provides.

To make use of the Revolve Curler (or any foam curler) in your higher again or shoulders, Felix presents these three ideas:

1. Don’t overlook to breathe. Correct respiratory is important. Holding your breath can enhance muscle rigidity, increase blood stress, and scale back the effectiveness of froth rolling.
2. Don’t roll your neck or decrease again. These areas are delicate and rolling them could make present points worse.
3. Sluggish your roll. Foam rolling just isn’t meant to be accomplished shortly. Maintain stress on tender areas for at the least 30 seconds to permit your muscle tissue to launch successfully.

My expertise utilizing the GoFit Revolve Curler

The GoFit Revolve curler has two principal elements: a 13-inch hole curler and adaptive therapeutic massage rings that match over the curler and may be taken on and off to create completely different configurations. The therapeutic massage rings have dimples and raised factors and are available in three diameters—pink low profile (the least diameter), gray mid profile, and inexperienced excessive profile.

The curler was created to be a transportable, reasonably priced possibility you possibly can change up relying in your wants, explains Mark Ish, president of GoFit. “Every configuration is like having a brand new curler, so that you don’t want to purchase 5 rollers to get outcomes,” he says.

I attempted the 423 model roller, the deluxe model that comes with 4 inexperienced, two gray, and three pink therapeutic massage rings. (Two lower-level fashions include both pink or pink and gray rings; you may as well purchase further rings individually.) With Felix’s strategies in thoughts, I began utilizing the curler about 4 instances per week for a month, normally later within the day when my higher again and shoulders had been tight from sitting at a desk for hours.

With so many attainable combos, it was exhausting to know the place to begin, however fortunately, an instruction booklet with configuration strategies was included. After making an attempt a number of of them, my favourite was “the cradle”— three pink rings within the center, then one gray and two inexperienced rings on every finish.

Putting my backbone on the center pink therapeutic massage rings and rolling up and down from the bottom of my neck to my mid backbone allowed the upper profile gray and inexperienced rings to hit all the correct spots. Because the title suggests, it was like mendacity in a self-massaging cradle. Once I hit a very spicy set off level, per Felix’s suggestion, I might maintain there for about 30 seconds on the curler’s raised factors.

I used the identical approach, together with slowly rolling facet to facet, on my biceps and lats. Considered one of my favourite components of utilizing the curler was transferring my physique place let me fluctuate the session primarily based on how I used to be feeling that day. For instance, when utilizing “the cradle” on my lats or biceps, if I wanted extra depth, I’d merely transfer a few inches to the denser inexperienced rings. If issues bought too spicy, I’d simply slide over to the pink or gray rings.

Due to the dimples and factors, the Revolve curler is unquestionably steadier than flat rollers—you gained’t go rolling off of it onto the ground. The cons had been minor—reconfiguring the rings took a couple of minutes and I struggled to get the tip screw-in caps that lock the rings in place on and off. These had been solely small drawbacks in comparison with my total expertise, although.

My outcomes and closing ideas

After simply a few periods with the Revolve Curler, I felt particular enchancment within the tightness and rigidity in my higher again and shoulders. If I skipped greater than a pair days, I may inform—I’d really feel these downside areas progressively tensing up because the day went on and know I wanted one other session. Inside a few weeks, my shoulder and higher again tightness was noticeably improved and continued to be, so long as I constantly used the curler.

The adaptive therapeutic massage rings actually made all of the distinction, permitting me to focus on hard-to-reach muscle tissue (particularly round my shoulder blades) far past what I’ve been capable of obtain with a flat curler. Whereas grid rollers have raised factors just like the Revolve, you possibly can’t alter them. I’ve tried a variety of foam rollers and by no means discovered one which provided this stage of adaptability. I critically can’t wait to attempt it out on my decrease physique.

As a facet word, novices would most likely profit from watching educational movies or a private coaching session to verify they’re utilizing the curler correctly. Even when you’re an outdated professional like me, the curler does require some trial and error till you discover configurations that work finest for you. However once you do, when you’re like me, the outcomes might be value it.