The $25 Recovery Kit: Foam Roller, Lacrosse Ball, and How to Actually Use Them

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Recovery is the part of training that gets the least equipment money and produces the most consistent return. A foam roller and a lacrosse ball — total cost $25 — cover the vast majority of what a $300 massage gun does, plus things the massage gun can't reach.

The research backs this up. A 2015 meta-analysis in the Journal of Athletic Training concluded that foam rolling reduces delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and improves perceived recovery in the 24–72 hour window after intense training. A separate review in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy (2020) found that targeted ball-based self-myofascial release was at least as effective as foam rolling for small-area trigger points.

Lacrosse-Ball on Frugal Fitness

The $25 Recovery Kit: Foam Roller, Lacrosse Ball, and How to Actually Use Them