Pulseroll Vibrating Foam Roller Plus – Review

The hook

The next generation of vibration training and recovery, endorsed by Team GB athletes, boxing champions, cyclists and amateurs alike. 

What they say

The Pulseroll vibrating foam rollers incorporate the latest technology and are highly useful products that can aid your recovery and therefore improve your running performance overall.

As foam rollers are scientifically proven to soften muscle tissue and increase blood flow, Pulserolls vibrating foam rollers add something a bit extra to really target the muscles without having to physically roll much at all; the vibrations do all the work! 

The benefits include;

Reduced next day soreness (DOMS), increased blood flow, reduced muscular pain, faster training recovery, flush away lactic acid, release knots and tension and faster recovery from injury

The review

What’s in the box?

So, what do you get? Well, In the box you’ve got the Vibrating roller itself, a mains charger (along with US and EU adapters), a fabric drawstring bag to carry it all and leaflet on how to use the roller.

How do you use it?

In terms of operating the Pulseroll, everything you need is situated at one end and really it couldn’t be much simpler than pressing a button. There is a compact ‘control centre’ on one end – the power button cycles you through the 4 vibration settings, which you are guided on by 1 of 4 blue LEDs positioned around the power button  which light up sequentially as you cycle through the vibration settings. Above this you have a further 3 red LEDs which are your battery indicator and finally below the power button you’ve got the charger port and that’s it. It really doesn’t get any more complicated.

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So, turn it on an off you roll, right!? Well kind of, its important to note that you use these slightly differently to a traditional roller. For all intents and purposes it you can target all the same areas – hamstrings, calves, glutes, quads, lower back etc. – just as you would with a normal roller. However the key difference is that because you’ve got the added benefit of the vibrations, you can find and stay on any ‘hot spots’ of pain or tightness much easier than with a foam roller. Similarly because you’re letting the vibrations do the work and not ‘rolling’ on it (well rolling significantly less anyway), it saves your arms and legs a lot of effort in the process.

I’ve been rolling as a warm up and cold down after intense sessions or just on my rest days as a way to stretch, reduce some soreness and ultimately get some flexibility back so I can keep training. Moving from a non-vibrating roller to Pulseroll has made this a much more pleasurable experience, its less painful and I find the muscles respond better as a result – largely, because I’m less tense.

If you’re familiar with rolling you will probably get straight on and work it, however if not the little Instruction leaflet gives you a wide range of positions from which you can target your key muscle groups.

My first thought was that higher vibrating frequencies would be for more tense, sore muscles but not so apparently. The lower frequencies are more suited to smaller muscle groups, while the higher ranges used for the larger muscle groups such as your quads. That said, the lower frequencies do give you the chance to adapt to the vibrations, but if your like me you want a fast fix and you smash straight in at level 4/4.

Battery life is stated at 3hrs and honestly I’d pretty much agree. I’m on it for between 10 and 20 minutes at a time (any more and I think I’d fall asleep) and it lasts for a month on one charge (although that generally depends on whether the kids find it or not…be warned, they may use it more than you!). This would be plenty if you were travelling to a race or travelling away from home for a few days, or if like me you frequently misplace chargers.

Lastly, the roller comes with a 1 year guarantee so you can assured your investment will be protected during that time (I refer to my earlier kids comment).

The price

£89.99* (currently on sale, normally £114.99).

Ok so lets be honest here, you’re probably thinking a standard / traditional foam rollers can be picked up from as little as £5 (Aldi) however the popular Trigger Point rollers range between £30 – £35. So, what’s the difference and is it worth it?

What you’re paying for with the Pulseroll is the technology – the vibrations provide a very different and enhanced recovery experience – it is less painful and more relaxing to use, particularly on those notoriously grimace generating areas such as the glutes and IT bands. 

The verdict

Most of you will have used a roller at one time or another and like me, will likely have a love / hate relationship with it. There’s loads of differing opinion on foam rolling as a way to relive tension in muscles, specifically the soft connective tissue. I’m not going there, all I will say is whether rolling is good or bad, if it works for you then that’s all that matters!

Putting that aside, Pulseroll is, I agree, an investment – for the occasional or sceptical roller, I’m guessing it might not hold as much appeal. However, for those religiously rolling as part of their workout routine and therefore seeing the benefits, I would say you’d notice the difference and therefore the additional benefits it will add to your routine and recovery. 

Personally, I’m a fan, it genuinely aids my recovery after harder sessions by reducing soreness and I’m using it on rest days as part of my conditioning and flexibility work. It took a while for me to get in to rolling, but I think had I started with a Pulseroll, that love / hate relationship would be much, much different. Pulseroll run a number of workshops and are at many, many trade events and expos – I’d urge you to search them out and find out for yourself just how good the vibrations are.

Find out more about Pulseroll and their vibrating rollers HERE.

The Run the Peaks team have been gifted a Vibrating Foam Roller Plus and a Vibrating Peanut Ball to use on their record attempt, running the National Three Peaks challenge as a 5 person relay team.