Two solid rubber balls for the small spots a roller slides past.
A massage ball does the detail work: it presses on one small spot where a roller or a stick spreads the pressure out. This set is two solid rubber balls, one blue and one red, each 2.5 in (6.4 cm) across – the listing says official lacrosse-ball size and weight. You lean on the ball against a wall, a chair or the floor and let your own weight set the pressure. The maker says the rubber has no chemical odor and will not stain walls.
Both balls are firm, so there is no gentler one to start with; a wall instead of the floor is the way to soften things. No pouch is listed, and a loose ball rolls – inside a shoe is a sensible place for the pair to travel.
Tip: Keep the ball on muscle – not on the spine, not on bone – and start seated or against a wall before you put your full weight on it.
Rester's Choice
cold on the quads or hamstrings after leg day, warm on the low back later, a freezer shelf kept for recovery
Amazon Basics
a recovery kit that lives by the door, the garage or the end of a hallway, rolling the whole kit to wherever you stretch, small apartments
Amazon Basics
lying lengthwise to open a rounded upper back, slow rolling of the mid-back and thighs, a corner with 3 ft of clear floor