Okuzeka
Sports & Fitness vocabulary · Gym & Equipment

Foam roller

Meaning in sports & fitness, with examples

/ˈfoʊm ˌroʊlər/nounCommon term

In sports & fitness, foam roller means: A firm foam cylinder that you lie or roll on to put pressure on your muscles, used in warm-ups and recovery.

In Turkish: foam roller, köpük rulo, masaj rulosu

How it is used

Found in most gyms and physio rooms. People use a foam roller on their calves, quads or upper back; the activity is called foam rolling. It is a form of self-massage, sometimes described as self-myofascial release.

Example sentences

  1. Spend a couple of minutes on the foam roller before you start.

  2. Foam rolling my calves after long runs makes them feel less tight.

Common collocations

  • use a foam roller
  • foam rolling
  • foam roller exercises
  • foam roll your calves
  • recoveryThe process of the body returning to normal after training, competition or injury, helped by rest, sleep and nutrition.
  • DOMSShort for delayed onset muscle soreness: the stiffness and pain felt in muscles a day or two after hard or unfamiliar exercise.
  • mobilityThe ability to move a joint actively and with control through its full range of motion; it depends on strength and joint health as well as flexibility.
  • warm-upLight exercise done before training or competition to raise body temperature and heart rate and prepare the muscles and joints for harder work.

More terms: Gym & Equipment

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: