Foam Roller, Deep Tissue Rollers, Restorative Yoga and More

Relax, refresh, restore, rejuvenate, replenish: all of these words are often associated with what happens after a vigorous workout. When we work out — and especially when we’re lifting weights — we’re taxing our muscles to the nth degree, breaking down muscle fibers in order for them to repair and build more mass during our recovery period. Sounds rough and tough, right? Well, it pretty much is.

But for athletes new and seasoned alike, sometimes it’s hard to remember to take a break and let your muscles recover. Recent studies have shown that recovery time for athletes speeds up when they take time to follow a restorative after-workout regimen, stick to a healthy, nutritionally dense diet, and catch enough sleep night after night. This gives muscles a well-deserved break and enough time to repair and restore muscle tissue.

How else can we speed up the muscle recovery process? Two words: foam roller. OK, two more words: rejuvenation tools. With our Restore Collection, we bring you handy-dandy massagers, deep tissue rollers, pinpoint hooks, and other lumpy, bumpy things that go deep into muscle tissue to ease stiffness, tame hot spots, and break up knotted muscle fiber. (Yep, these tools definitely fall into the hurts-so-good category.)

Take, for example, our nubbly Restore Deep Tissue Roller. Designed to get into the deeper layers of muscle tissue, this wavy, orange roller stimulates blood flow to soothe aches and restore muscle tissue quicker than you can say, “wavy orange roller.” OK, maybe not quite that fast. And P.S., if orange isn’t your bag, this nubbly wonderworker also comes in a lovely royal blue or a pleasant neutral gray.

Another bestseller is our Restore Pinpoint Back Massager, which looks like something Captain Hook has at the end of his left arm. This innovative tool is perfect for those hot spots that flare up and cause you serious aches and pains in one specific and often hard-to-reach area. With a curved shape that provides a good amount of knot-blasting leverage, this tool gets right to the point. (Pun most definitely intended.)

Now, let’s shift gears to something more…gentle. In addition to rolling, pressing, and kneading your sore muscles, you also want to give them a good stretch. Restorative yoga is the perfect way to create flexibility and find length in otherwise tight, shortened muscles.

A popular style of restorative yoga is Yin. With a focus on the deeper connective tissues in the body, Yin’s aim is to improve flexibility and increase circulation through deeply relaxed postures and longer holds. You’ll often find a Yin studio is filled with props — yoga blocks, yoga straps, and yoga blankets — to help support students in intensely opening poses. This class may sound deeply relaxing (and it can be) — but it’s also a challenge for those who prefer a faster, more vigorous practice. Slowing down is the name of the game, here!

However you choose to take care of your post-workout muscles, keep two words in mind: restore and rejuvenate. With a million ways to work out, there are only a handful of ways to properly care for your muscles — be sure you’re giving them the rest and recovery they need.