I thrash my body on a fairly regular
basis. In the past few years, I have
dealt with Achilles tendonitis, a calf strain, ongoing plantar fasciitis, and
most recently, an ankle injury. I have
been able to run through my plantar fasciitis for almost 9 months now, but the
ankle issue stopped me dead in my tracks.
Kind of ironic since I write about running without injuries, right. The reality is that I do research, but tend
to push myself farther and faster than I should. Just being real with you.
I try to foam roll and stretch on a
regular basis. I also try to cross
train, although I tend to be really good for a month or two and then just seem
to slow down on my cross training and stretching until I get an injury. I think I just get complacent when by body
feels good and stop doing what it took to get to that place. I know exactly what I should be doing, but
just don’t do those activities at times.
I have used multiple types of foam
rollers, some of which vibrate, massage balls, sticks, and everything in
between. Some of the products are
amazing while others are just horrible.
I have my favorites, but am always interested in testing out something
new. You never know when you will find
that next miracle piece of gear that can help you stay more injury free.
I was on Facebook and ran across a
Sponsored ad for The BFF, which looks like a
car polisher/buffer. The BFF is a small startup
out of Chicago, where founder Joshua Grabuffsky came up with the idea after
attending a part where he got “buffed” using a large polishing device. He wanted to come up with a similar product
that was more sleek, simple, and practical.
He started to teach himself every facet of how to transform his vision
into a reality.
I got The BFF and started using it
that night. It is extremely easy to use,
but, let’s first go over what comes in the box.
You get The BFF, and two pads, a
white mitt for massaging over clothes or on bare skin, and a blue mitt to
spread lotion for keeping your skin silky smooth. There are also hair removal/exfoliating pads
that can remove body hair (almost like a fine grit sand paper), but more on
that later.
The BFF has a 12 foot cord,
which is awesome for using anywhere around the house. I have more than one massager/recovery device
that has a 6 foot cord or shorter, so I either have to use an extension cord or
sit right next to the outlet. Not with The BFF though. The BFF operates at 3300
buffs per minute and the pad is 6” in diameter.
The pad that the mitts go on is a triple density foam disc that rotates
and vibrates.
The skin exfoliating/body hair removal
disks work well although it does take several passes of the buffer to get the
hair off, and in my testing it did not get all of the hair but most of it. I do have to say that is was painless and
felt calming as I was removing the forest of hair on my legs (all in the name
of product testing).
The BFF recently came out with
the Jeff
Galloway version. Jeff Galloway
is an Olympic runner and author. He has
written books all about running, including about the “run walk run” method.
Here is a video that Jeff put out about The BFF.
I have been using The BFF for over a month now
and have really enjoyed it. The
instructions say to let the weight of the device put the pressure on your body,
there is no need to push. I have had one
incident where I was really trying to get deep in my shin muscles and pushed a
little too hard. I ended up with a
friction burn. After using this almost
every day, that was the only incident that I had. There was also a warning that you need to
watch out for loose clothing, which I never had an issue with.
When I hurt my ankle, probably due to
overuse, I was running about 65 miles a week, which were the highest weeks I
had ever done, although I had been building up to those distances for quite a
while. I was just in the middle of a
long run when I started to develop a pain along the tendon in the front of my
ankle. I feel that it is most likely an
impingement or some sort of tendonitis.
Unlike almost every other running injury that I have had, there was no
running through this pain. I tried ice
and compression, both of which made the injury worse. I then tried heat and Active Release
Techniques, which helped, but I think one of the main reasons why I am
recovering so quickly is using the BFF on a regular basis to massage the
muscles all around the shin, calf, and ankle.
I also for the first time ever, actually took time off of running, which
was huge.
I recently started to use the tips in
this video by Jeff Galloway
to help with my Plantar Fasciitis.
I am a huge fan of The BFF and would not
hesitate to recommend it. In my opinion,
the biggest issue of The BFF is the price. At a hefty $300, you might have to hold off
on those shoes you want to get, but it may help you stay healthier and increase
mobility.
The BFF website claims to
increase blood flow, provide nerve and cell rejuvenation, and vascular
dilation. It also claim to help clear
lactic acid, release tight or sore muscles and provide Myofascial trigger point
release (like foam rolling). There are
some other claims as well. While I can
see that the claims may be valid, but there is no scientific data backing up
their claims from what I can see. I am
not saying that the claims are incorrect, but if you are looking for a doctor’s
testimonial backing the claim from a medical perspective, it wasn’t on the
website.
Pros:
Helps to loosen muscles before and
after workouts/running
Has several mitts for massage,
moisturizing, or hair removal
Feels great and not painful like foam
rolling
More benefit in less time
Cons:
A little pricey at $300.00
The BFF’s
Social Media Links
If you are looking to keep your muscles
loose and help your overall mobility, I think The BFF is a decent
product. You should stretch as well as
use other methods of increasing mobility and getting stronger, but The BFF could be a great
tool to help you perform and recover more efficiently. While the price can be a little high, it’s a
solidly built product that should last for years to come.
Note: I received this product
in exchange for a review. The review is my personal opinion of the
product and I was not required to give a particular opinion of it. I am not a doctor, so please use all of the
products that I review at your own risk.
