So today’s post serves two purposes.
For starters, to show how diesel I look in my vintage Captain America t-shirt, which seems appropriate considering I’m finsihing up week 3 of The Super Hero Workout as of today. BOOM! But more importantly, the video demonstrates a cool and simple way to hit up a little soft tissue work on the backside of the body (particularly the rhomboids and traps) using nothing more than a lacrosse ball and (what I hope) is a clean sock.
We all know the importance of soft tissue work, so I won’t belabor the point here. But giving credit where credit is due I stole this idea from current CP intern (and resident nutrition guru), Tyler Simmons, when I saw him using this contraption with a client the other day. Initially, I thought to myself “what in the what is he doing?” But then I quickly realized that Tyler was onto something, and thought it was a downright brilliant concept that I felt needed to be shared with the masses. Check out the video below for a quick tutorial.
A few things:
1. Yes, using a foam roller and/or a PVC pipe is standard issue around CP; but I’ve found that in order to really get after the rhomboids and traps, using something a little more “focused” is ideal – hence the ball against the wall. In addition, this protocol can be problematic because the ball slips around and falls to the ground much of the time. Thowing a sock into the mix, however, just makes it a bit more convenient and less cumbersome in the long run.
2. Of course, another contraption I’ve mentioned in the past is the Thera-Cane, which I’m a huge proponent of.
Thing is, a sock is free. And if you’re like me, you have a million and one of them anyways so why not toss a ball in there and kill two birds with one stone. Not only will you have a pretty nifty (yes, I just said nifty) soft tissue tool, but you’ll also have a makeshift weapon if or when you ever find yourself being attacked in an alley by ninjas. You never know!
Try it out, and let me know what you think!
