I’m a fitness writer and this is why a massage ball is an integral part of my warm-up

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Of all the recovery tools, the humble foam roller might be the best-known and most widely-owned. In a world of expensive home saunas, massage guns and compression boots, a roller is refreshingly straightforward and affordable too. But there’s another, even cheaper, piece of kit which can also help you soothe sore muscles: the massage ball.

In its simplest form, this is a dense rubber sphere roughly the size of a tennis ball. Sure, you can get vibrating variations or those with spikes and textures to provide additional acupressure benefits, but in my experience bog-standard massage balls have always done the trick.

Like the foam roller, the exact mechanisms behind the massage ball’s effectiveness are hard to pinpoint, but many gym-goers swear by them for targeting tight spots, priming their muscles pre-exercise and preventing DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness) post-workout.

You use a ball in much the same way as a foam roller too. Simply place it on the ground, lay the target body part on top of it, then let gravity act as the masseuse by slowly moving around. However, because of its smaller size I’ve found a ball is actually better for accessing certain muscle groups than a more cumbersome foam roller.

Below, you can find a deeper dive into the plus-points of this compact recovery tool, which can help you decide if it might be a worthy addition to your gym bag.

A massage ball works in much the same way as a foam roller: it applies sustained pressure to tissues to help release tightness. But, it’s much easier to carry around with you.

A small study published in the Journal of Athletic Training found using this technique “substantially” reduced the tenderness felt by gym-goers in their legs after grinding through some challenging sets of squats. And a meta-analysis in Frontiers in Physiology concluded that warming up with acupressure could contribute to short-term increases in flexibility, without hampering muscle performance, while a post-workout rolling session could ease muscle soreness.

But a massage ball offers one bonus benefit beyond those of a foam roller – thanks to its compact nature, it provides better access to certain muscles and tissues. I’ve found it’s particularly effective for hitting muscles like the hip flexors at the top of the front of the thigh and the latissimus dorsi (or lats, which spread across the back and can be accessed under the armpit).

That’s why, as a CrossFit fan who follows a varied exercise routine, it’s a regular fixture in my warm-ups. Using a massage ball helps me prime my hips for explosive weightlifting exercises such as the split jerks, and increase my flexibility around my shoulders so I can access better overhead positions during moves like the push press and thruster.

You can splash the cash on a souped-up massage ball with textures, spikes and vibration settings if you like, but I prefer to stick to the basics. This Myprotein option provides everything I want from a massage ball, with its small size and firm feel providing an effective massage. And it’s less than £5 in the sale. Easy to throw in your gym bag and use on the go, it’s one of the most affordable recovery tools out there.

Read more: Forget the treadmill – try skipping for a fun, more affordable form of cardio