In honor of National Foam Rolling Day, here are five benefits of using a foam roller before and after practice from USA Swimming's National Team High Performance Director Keenan Robinson. 

1. Decreases Muscle Stiffness: foam rolling removes local muscle tightness, but still leaves them responsive enough to train
2. Reduced pain: the ischemic pressure provides temporary pain relief
3. Relaxation: foam rolling improves the autonomic nervous system by allowing the body return to parasympathetic state(rest and digest) post training
4. Activation: foam rolling may modulate certain muscle tissue tone prior to training to provide an aid in the warm up process
5. Convenient: a foam roller is a piece of beneficial equipment(just like a great kick board and hand paddles) that a swimmer can use throughout their career and is easy to travel with