MY FAVORITE. Via Goop
I mentioned once before that I drink water with lemon first thing in the morning because Gwenyth told me to. She says jump, I say how high.
I kid. I was drinking water with lemon long before I knew Gwenyth did. I love Goop, and while I don’t excitedly look forward to the emails, I always open and scan them when they come. I inevitably find something worthwhile in them: a recipe, wellness ideas (I read about the OMG I can Meditate app via Goop and I’ve used it to meditate every day for months), beauty products.
A couple weeks ago there was an article on foam rolling for cellulite by Lauren Roxburgh. Hello!! Click bait!! for me anyway LOL. I’ve had a foam roller for years, I KNOW I should use it every day, but I never have because it hurts like hell. Especially on the areas I need it most: my hip flexors and the outside of my hips/saddlebags. So, I’d never given the roller much of a chance to do anything; I’m a huge wimp, and never made the time.
After reading the Goop piece, and doing some more research on the information therein, I decided to commit to rolling every day through the end of January to see if I could tell a difference, and I’ve been doing it about 9 days so far. I AM A CONVERT. It wasn’t really until today that I realized how much of a difference just 10-15 minutes of the specific routine has made, but man…I am changed. And, wait for it, it doesn’t hurt so much anymore. The first three days I rolled, I had to stop in the middle of the hip/thigh rolling because it hurt so much, I was almost in tears. Now, I know it’s working, but it’s not unbearable.
I haven’t examined my cellulite to tell if it’s smoothed that out at all, or shrunk it, but I imagine it hasn’t. Anyway, I don’t want to look too closely. More importantly, what it has done has alleviated the pain I feel in my right hip flexor so I can lift my right leg to put pants on without feeling that little burst of pain. And I no longer have frequent pain/cramping in my left leg along the side of my leg starting at the outside of my left hip. I can also do more of the lower ab work under the bar at Pure Barre because my hip flexors don’t try and take over (that probably doesn’t make a lot of sense if you don’t do Pure Barre, or have hip flexor issues, but that is the most important and meaningful thing to me in all of this, I almost shouted for joy today when I could lift my feet without pain!).
I pre-ordered Lauren’s book with more foam rolling exercises in it to try, and now I really want an exercise trampoline… See, I’ve been Goop’d!
Seriously, I don’t consider myself a blind follower of anything Gwenyth says or endorses, but she’s definitely on to something, and I’ve honestly never tried anything via Goop I didn’t like.
Perhaps I was ready for this, which is why I finally latched on to foam rolling. It also seemed like a reasonable proposition: give it 21 days and then see. It’s SO HARD to get started, and I really had to make myself do it the first few days, but now, I look forward to it as soon as I get up (after I drink my lemon water *wink*).
Again, I have no idea what it will do for my cellulite, but at this point, it’s not even about that. I can tell my body works and feels better when I roll everyday, and that is the ONLY thing that matters.
So, if you have a roller and don’t use it, or have any hip/leg pain at all that doesn’t seem to ever go away, please give rolling a try, and push through how much it hurts in the beginning. If I can do it, anyone can…
Are you Goop’d? Do you use a foam roller? What has your experience been?
Yes! I’m so glad you wrote this. I’ve dabbled with foam rolling, but never got into a routine.I just started taking orange theory classes last week and am so.sore. I keep telling myself to get into a routine, so this was perfect timing! My husband has this super crazy foam roller that vibrates and I like to just lay my back over it for 5 minutes and it warms up every muscle in my back. I’m going to start trying it on my hips, but like you, that area hurts the worst! It’s motivating to hear that it gets easier with time.
honestly, when i started i was like, WTF? i wanted to quit, and i almost didn’t do it the third or fourth day because it hurt so much, but it did get better…i’m too big of a wimp to keep going if not LOL
definitely give it a try, you never know! i made myself, and i’m so glad i did!
oh! and i’ve wanted to try orange theory forever. but i can’t really afford to do that and pure barre, and i’m way too addicted to PB to stop….
I love foam rollers and have used them for years for soreness, strength and stretching. My new favorite is the MELT method that uses small balls as well as a very soft foam roller. It increases circulation, range of movement, balance and actually helps with inflammation. I have a set at home that I use before a workout. Take a look into it. I only found out about it after my pilates studio started offering classes.
I love your blog because I never know what I’m going to get when I open the email (which is a wonderful thing!). I have a foam roller I’ve had forever (used it for a frozen shoulder). I am very excited to try it for my very tight hips. I used to really like Goop when it was Gwyneth writing it. Now it’s gotten a little commercial for me but I still enjoy it. Thanks for another great post!
thank you andrea! will definitely take a look 🙂
oh, what a nice thing to say 🙂 thank you beth.
try it! and let me know how it works for you.
I LOVE Goop ~ and my foam roller is in the garage .. lol. I know I need to use it to help muscle soreness, but alas .. in the garage it remains.
I’ve been drinking lemon/water since I read the Fat Flush Plan (way before Goop was a blog) .. it really helps get things “moving” in the morning (better than coffee, I might add).
Monica.
Foam rolling is absolute TORTURE but the results are worth it! I’m glad I’m not the only one that wanted to quit from the pain. You are right though; after a few days, it gets a lot better. Now if I could just find my foam roller…..
I too have been wanting to try the foam roller because I have issues with my hip flexors. But a quick question in this photo it looks like she is on a special mat with a bump in it? Is that true or is that necessary?? Thanks for the post!
I just use my roller on the floor. I think she’s just on a regular yoga mat…
Try it!!! People have been trying to get me to do it consistently for years when I complain about my hip flexors. Finally it took LOL
I see your water and lemon and raise you water, lemon, and apple cider vinegar in the morning! (I have no idea where I read that but it works for me)
I’ve never tried a foam roller but I’m on day 18 of 30 days of yoga!
Lol. I drink apple cider vinegar in water when I don’t have lemon. That’s hard core 😉
I too have a love/ hate relationship with the foam roller but it really does me a wonder of good with the tight IT bands and hip flexors….another book you might want to consider….”Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash by Timothy Caulfield” a really great read about the influence of celebrity culture and how it shapes our live
I have a foam roller and I use it LOADS.
I mainly use it for my quad, hip flexors and ITB but also use it for my back, lats and delts.
When I started I could barely stand to roll my ITB’s (the outside of my hips/saddlebags) but now I can roll around on them forever.
Dunno if there’s been a reduction in cellulite (I’ve never actually thought to check) but I know that if I don’t roll after a workout (I’m a competitive track cyclist) then I know about it.
Thank you for this post. First of all I have a foam roller and haven’t used-didn’t realized how it could help but after reading this post and the comments I am excited to add to my routine. And Goop-had no idea. I checked it out and the first article I read about how we think about food had me hooked. Once again great info.
Confession time: I’ve been GOOP’ed. I really don’t care for Gwyneth’s personality online or in the media, but I like her site….good food options, fashion ideas ( I go for the dupes!) and if you’re into “consciously uncoupling,” this is the place for you. Never tried rolling but I’m going to do the lemon water thing (my racialist swears by the acid/alkaline thing). Um…NOT “racialist” autocorrect…FACIALIST!!!!
Ha, yes another foam roller neglecter here. Read your post, pulled it out from under the stairs and rolled (while wincing!). And yes, 2nd night tonight. I’ll keep going – how long before you had results/less pain!!??
Also was into Goop briefly but found the cost of things too ridiculous.. Got her cookbook out of the library and found a few basic recipes helpful eg quinoa & egg boiling, good technique!!
i love the recipes, but i’ve never bought anything via goop. for quinoa, i do mine in a rice cooker…changed my life!!
i took me 3-4 days to have LESS pain with the roller and then after about 7 i don’t have any, unless i’m REALLY REALLY stiff or sore or something…
lol what in the world is a racialist anyway?? autocorrect is so annoying 😉
i’m not really a fan of her as an actress or anything, i just like goop – which i know isn’t only her, anyway.
Love the quinoa tip, thanks! I’ll keep going with the roller and see how it goes.
I use a foam roller to roll out my IT bands, quads, and inner thigh around four times a week. Before I started using the roller I had pain in my sacro-iliac joint a lot of the time, because a tight IT band and muscles were tugging on it. Using the foam roller regularly really helps with the tight tissue, so it doesn’t pull my SI joint, so my SI joint almost never hurts. It’s awesome!
Re. the discussion above, a few quick pointers:
– You don’t need to roll on a mat. I do it on my hardwood floor.
– There are different densities of foam roller. I have a very firm black one that means more pressure is applied to the areas I’m rolling. You can buy softer ones (often in blue or white). If the foam roller you’re using hurts way too much for you then get a softer one. If it’s too soft to feel effective then get a firmer one.
– To target a really localized area of tight muscle you can also lie on a tennis ball or a lacrosse ball (which is firer than a tennis ball). There are some tight spots in my hip / glute area that are hard to stretch or roll out but relax beautifully with a minute lying on a lacrosse ball. There’s info about this at https://yogainternational.com/article/view/tennis-ball-techniques-for-tight-muscles
this is awesome!! thank you! i had heard about using a tennis ball, but never looked up how to do it. it always sounded so painful 😉