What's that black foam thingy in the corner?

The "black foam thingy" is used for self myofascial release. What the hell is myofascia then?

Think of the fascial system (our connective tissue) as the knitted yarn that holds our bones, muscles, nerves, arteries, veins, and internal organs together. It is all connected form head to toe, so when physical trauma (a la Tabata), inflammation (ditto), or scarring occur, the afflicted area becomes tight and pulls on the rest of the “yarn” in your body. These areas become dense, thick, and knotted. Imagine prolonged damage to those connective tissues without proper therapy. Fascia is thin, but very fibrous and strong. Anyone who has skinned chicken breasts or trimmed meat has encountered fascia, the whitish colored thin sheets of tissue between the skin and muscle of the meat. Fascia forms directly under the skin and serves as a strong layer of connective tissue between the skin and muscles underneath it.

So why should we utilize self myofascial release (SMR)??? Here's what the folks at Perform Better say:

"By performing Self-Myofascial Release techniques on a simple piece of foam, your clients can improve flexibility, function, performance, and reduce injuries. In a nutshell, your clients use their own body weight to roll on the round foam roll, massaging away restrictions to normal soft-tissue extensibility. And your clients can perform this program at home, maximizing their recovery time."

So...........read through this site to get a more thorough understanding of it all, along with some great pictures of SMR in action. I have been taking the time to hit the foam roller at least once a day for a few months now. It is a staple of my daily pre-wod warmup, and it really does work.

Here's a pretty good explanation of SMR from a dude with a cool accent:

Here's some pics of yesterday's action: