Why Do I Need to Stay Pliable?
Muscle stiffness gets worse over time and affects all athletic (i.e. physical) performance, including those 5k Turkey Trots. Experts at TB12 (a training method created by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady), say that when we don’t stay pliable, strains and injuries cause pain receptors to send SOS signals to our brain. The brain then signals muscles surrounding the strain to tighten for protection. Other muscles are forced to pick up the slack which creates imbalances and more injuries.
“If you want proof that pliability training works, I’m it,” says Brady. “I was the 199th pick of the 2000 draft — an athlete that had always been told he didn’t have the right body for football. No one had believed I’d play a year of college ball let alone in the NFL. Not a lot of players have ever started as quarterback while in their 40s.”
Brady calls pliability training the “missing leg” of nearly every strength and conditioning programming. So the GOAT secret to success may not be staying away from nightshade vegetables, but trying vibrating foam rolling.
How to Use a Vibrating Foam Roller
The cool part about using a vibrating pliability roller is you can do it on the ground watching the game. TB12 experts do say pliability training has the best results immediately before or after a workout, but runners who swear by foam rolling will get in a quick 20-minute session any time and anywhere.
Before a workout, a vibrating roller can loosen the muscles and reduce the risk of injury. Following a flex, rolling out jumpstarts recovery, clears built-up lactic acid (like a deep-tissue massage), and begins correcting any muscle imbalances that took place during the workout.
TB12 suggests focusing on one muscle for one minute at a time. Easy enough. Using a vibrating roller, target biceps and triceps, quads, and shins to start.
If it hurts, you’re vibing too high. Start low. You won’t be in a crowded gym and should feel no need to go hard and heavy right away. Begin at the lowest setting, one minute per muscle, and see how you feel the next day. As you stay consistent, ramp up the intensity.
With only a single piece of equipment and theoretically free workouts, the key to pliability success is consistency. Muscle tightens quickly and easily, so the point is to maintain pliability and retrain the muscles to stay loose.
“Through deep-force pliability work, you can take advantage of your brain’s inherent neuroplasticity,” say experts at TB12. Using a vibrating foam roller can restore the muscles’ ability to oxygenate and promote healing. This doesn’t only happen in the direct muscle but in the brain … which is very groovy.
Perform Better currently supply three vibrating foam rollers:
Pulseroll
Grid Vibe
Vyper 2.0
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