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“Wow. It went so deep,” states one review for the R8 Plus on ROLL Recovery’s site. Indeed, the R8 Plus will do ya right… in the forearms and hammies, that is.
I first spotted one of these roller-skate arm-trapping thing-a-majigs at the gym. It didn’t look enticing; the girl who was using it to massage her forearm had her eyes squeezed shut and her mouth all skewed sideways like she’d just eaten something nasty. Not for me, I thought.
But after too many one-arm attempts—because obviously being able to crank out one-arms is the ticket to sending the proj—my elbows started to ache. I researched outer-elbow pain and had to back off on the pull-ups. I massaged my biceps and used a percussion massager on and around the sore spots. But the thing about elbow pain, as most climbers are well aware, is that it tends to linger. After more research, I began to change my tune about the kind of contraptions I was willing to stick my arms in. And I ordered the R8 Plus.
ROLL Recovery was founded by Jeremy and Adriana Nelson in their garage in Boulder, Colorado. Adriana, a professional marathon runner and winner of multiple National Championship titles, was looking for ways to enhance her recovery time. As a mechanical engineer, Jeremy got to work tinkering with designs. The R8 was built to compress deep tissue to help athletes break up tight spots and increase blood flow.
You’ll notice that when using the R8 Plus it’s almost impossible not to make a face. The thing digs, in a good way. I consistently found myself reaching for it after a long day of climbing, just as the fatigue was settling in. While rolling it across my forearms, I’d find a knot and hold the position. While applying the slightest amount of added pressure, I’d roll my hand in small semi-circles to find the stretch. I’d release and repeat. The results came quick: It only took about a month of using the R8 Plus (and taking it easy on the pull-ups and incorporating a few therapeutic exercises) for my elbow pain to completely dissipate.
Because the R8 plus is made with durable materials (and comes with a knit travel bag), it’s easy to throw in your pack and take to the gym or crag.
Although the R8 Plus has an adjustable dial for setting tension, I mostly kept it on its lowest setting and at times wished I could further decrease the intensity. For that reason, I almost exclusively used it after a session when my muscles were warm rather than prior to a day out. That said, you can buy two SuperPlush Inserts to decrease the pressure. (Or, for the hardened among us, SuperDeep Inserts will allow you to increase pressure.)
The R8 Plus is available in white, black, or red. At $169, it isn’t cheap, but neither are physical therapy and massages.