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Every winter I tell myself how excited for summer I am so I can get out and get my workouts in the outdoors. I’m an outdoors person for sure and hate being cooped up inside all winter long, but because I dislike the cold even more than being cooped up inside, I rarely get outside in the winter for some exercise – unless you count my snowboarding!

But then summer comes, and I often find myself complaining it’s too hot to get outside and workout, and since I’m not a morning person, I’ve found the early workouts just don’t work for me.

When it comes to working out, it’s all about what works for you. What is going to motivate you to get moving – whether that be a workout indoors or outdoors, morning or evening, and then of course how you work out is probably the biggest key factor of all. If you’re not a big fan of running and set your alarm for 6 am to get outside and go for a jog, there is probably a good chance you’re going to sleep through that alarm.

I get totally annoyed by those people who boast about how much they love to work out. I hate working out. HATE it. But I’ve done it religiously for the last 15 years because I love how my body feels afterward. I love knowing that I did something good for myself and for my body that day. I love seeing the muscle definition come in, and most of all, I love knowing that I can indulge in that rich small piece of chocolate every day because I got my workout in. But you can bet that while I’m working out, I am counting down the minutes for it to be over, no matter what workout I’m doing. I’ve found I tend to be a little less motivated for it to end with Yoga, and sometimes cycling, but for the most part, I do not love working out. I want it to be over so I can get on with my day.

I think often times people really dislike the soreness of working out, but I actually love that part, because it makes me feel like I did some good for my body. However, it doesn’t mean that I still want to suffer to the point that it hurts to get out of bed the next day, or drags on for 3-4 days. Another reason many of us avoid working out is that awful injury that either snuck up on you over time or happened immediately while working out and has scared you off from doing that workout ever again. For me, It was about 7 years back when I decided to run my first 5k. I’m not a runner, I don’t enjoy it but was asked by my sister to run with her. Well, my competitive nature kicked in and knowing that she was a runner, I made it my goal to beat her. So what did I do? I jumped on a treadmill and ran a 5K the very next day. While I’ve always been fit, this is a very bad idea if you rarely run (like me), because a few days into doing this very thing, all of a sudden I had knee pain in my left leg, and since then, it’s never really gone away when I run, or even during other workouts sometimes, or even on cold days.

The truth is, working out can be not only even more discouraging to do, but also disastrous if you don’t do it right. And while many of us may already realize that there are things that must be done, like warming up first or easing yourself (over days or weeks) into running that 5K, many of us are probably are still not doing what we should be to help prevent injury or limit the soreness afterward.

I’ve been hearing about Foam Rollers for what seems like a long time now but really didn’t know anything about them or how they could benefit the body! Turns out, these handy little inexpensive tools could be just what we need to help prevent an injury while working out.

In fact, there are actually several benefits of a foam roller! While it’s great for those who work out regularly, even if you’re not the most motivated exerciser or you find you spend too much time sitting at a desk all day to squeeze in a workout, the foam roller can still provide you many benefits.

6 Benefits of Using a Foam Roller Regularly:

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