Exercises with and without role
Fascial training involves large movements, moving entire chains of muscles and thus fascial pathways. To strengthen, stretch and loosen these to their full extent. Typical already known sports that train the fasciae are, for example, yoga or Pilates – large flowing movements that involve strengthening and stretching.
Cat’s HumpA classic exercise that smoothly moves the front and back fascia chain is called the Cat’s Hump. From the four-footed position, the back is stretched out upwards like a hump in slow-flowing changes and then stretched downwards. For extension, an arm and a leg can be simultaneously stretched diagonally and brought together under the body.
Fascial Training ShoulderFor the shoulder area, stand with one step distance in front of a wall, let yourself fall forward with your body straight and tensed, catch yourself with your arms on the wall and push yourself back again gently but powerfully and with tension. Do about 10 repetitions and always position your arms at different heights. JumpsJumps also support the strength and flexibility of the fascia.
Your feet stand about hip-wide apart, go down to the right angle and then push yourself up strongly. The arms are taken along, from the lateral slope they are sweepingly taken up from the high jump. Exercises with the fascia rollFoot At the end of the workout, the fascia roll is used for support.
Start with the soles of your feet while standing. A small roller or ball is best. Place it under one foot and roll slowly back and forth (with your weight on the roll).
Pause at tense points and then roll slowly back and forth. CalfFor the calves, sit in the long seat with legs stretched out, arms behind the body and bring the bottom up. The roll is positioned lengthwise under a calf.
Roll slowly up and down from the Achilles tendon to the hollow of the knee and back. The pressure can be reduced by placing the other foot on the floor at an angle or increased by placing the other leg on the roll or leg. HamstringFor the back of the thigh the same starting position is taken and rolled from above the hollow of the knee to below the buttocks.
AbductorsThe outer side of the thighs is often quite sensitive, especially for athletes. Place yourself in the side support, the upper leg is placed in front of the body, the roll is placed just above the knee under the lower leg. The lower forearm holds the body weight while you slowly roll up and down the outside of the thigh.
QuadtricepsFor the front thigh, enter the forearm support – looking towards the floor. The roll is positioned above the knees under both legs. Slowly roll up to the groin and back.
To increase pressure, strike one leg over the other or lift off. GluteusFor strong pom muscles sit back in the long seat, hands support behind the body. The roll is positioned diagonally under one half of the buttocks, the leg on the same side is positioned and tilted outwards.
Roll small lanes back and forth over the glutes. All of the exercises support whole-body tension/stability by keeping it up, while loosening tissue and fascia. Connective tissue massages as well as stretching exercises also have a positive effect on fascial adhesions.
To loosen the neck, first place the fascia roll under the skull bone in the supine position with the legs upright and roll the head slowly from right to left and from top to bottom. After several repetitions, place the roll one level lower in the neck and repeat the same movements. For local tensions in the shoulder-neck area, the small roll or a ball is again suitable (if no fascia ball is available, a tennis ball can also be used).In supine position and with the legs turned up, place the ball under the tense point and roll/circle up and down in small movements or simply hold the point.
The pressure is increased when the buttocks are lifted, so the body weight is only on the ball and feet. The pressure is reduced if the same exercise is performed standing against a wall instead of lying on your back. Further exercises can be found in the article Fascial Roll and Blackroll.
For the training of the back fascia, stand stable and slightly wider than hip-wide. With both hands a weight is held, such as a small water bottle or, for the more experienced, a chain ball. Bend your back down, bend your knees slightly, swing the weight with straight hanging arms through your legs backwards and finally in the backswing far up, legs are stretched again when you straighten up and the arms are stretched with the weight in your hands above your head.
Repeat this swing exercise a few times in a fluent continuous movement. Rotational stretching positions are suitable for loosening the spiral fasciae. Lie on your back with your legs straight and your arms spread out to the right and left of your body.
Now lift your legs at right angles and move your knees alternately to the right and left towards the floor. After a few repetitions, put your knees to one side and stretch your arms over your head to the opposite side. Breathe deeply into the stretched side.
The fascial roll can be used to treat the long back extensor. In supine position, legs up, the roll is positioned lengthwise just above the buttocks, the upper body is lifted with tension parallel to the floor, the arms can be laid crossed in front of the chest and now slowly roll the back up and down to the neck. Further exercises can be found in the article Fascial Roll and Blackroll.
