I had to cancel a Nia class recently. Not permanently cancel, just one Saturday class. If you know me, you know it had to be serious. While I was away I wrote the “More Foam Roller Coolness” post. A couple of days later a few things occurred to me. The first thing that occurred to me was that the progression of exercise difficulty could be totally different for everyone — depending upon where they were physically. Of course you know that but I always feel it is important to state it. I was thinking that horizontal to vertical was the more difficult progression because it was difficult for me at that time (my ankle has been getting my attention recently). But for others, maybe even most others, it would be the other way, from vertical to horizontal. Another thing I thought about that made me chuckle was the term horizontal and vertical. I didn’t describe that at all. I guess that is what I get when I am out of town because of some medical situation for my mom. I had other things on my mind and wasn’t thinking too clearly and so I didn’t think to clarify. And it did not help that my dad kept popping in the room telling me about more information he found on the internet about some of the medical procedures. Sometimes having the internet at your disposal to see medical procedures is not really all that great! So this post is to correct or remind readers that the horizontal to vertical progression, might actually be vertical to horizontal – depending upon the situation – and to explain what “horizontal” and “vertical” is.
If you were to stand with both of your feet facing front and you placed the roller on the ground so that each end was on the opposite side of your feet that is an example of the “horizontal” position. To clarify when using the roller in the horizontal position you could place it wherever it is required to be for what you are doing as long as the roller is more or less positioned with the length going from left to right (or right to left).
If you were to stand with both of your feet facing front and you placed the roller on the ground so that the length of it went along the side of your foot, that would be the “vertical” position of the foam roller. For a moment I had pictured people imagining setting the roller on its end and trying to figure out how to do exercises from there. That is what had me chuckling. So no, in this case, “vertical” does not mean stand it on its end!
Again, where you place the roller as you are going to use it depends on what exercise or stretch you are going to do, but the “horizontal” means from left to right (or right to left) and “vertical” means if you were to stand near it is would be parallel to your foot. It would also be called “vertical” when you place the foam roller on the ground and are going to lie on it with one end at your head and the other end at your tail.
Does it all make better sense now? Do you understand you don’t have to be a Cirque du Soleil acrobat to do stretches or exercise with the foam roller in a “vertical” position?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 