Foam rollers are everywhere these days—at the gym , under your desk, collecting dust under the sofa —but does anyone actually know how to use a foam roller? Done well, foam rolling can ease tightness, increase blood flow, and help you move more freely before or after a workout . Done poorly, it just feels like a painful waste of time.

To figure out how to actually make foam rolling effective, I talked to two experts: James Chung , DPT, a sports physical therapist and strength coach at MotivNY in New York City, and Austin Martinez , CSCS, vice president of training and experience at StretchLab . From how long to roll to which muscles to target (and which ones to skip), they broke down what matters, what doesn’t, and why foam rolling isn’t just about pain tolerance—it’s about

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