Cynthia from You Signed Up for What?, Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, and Mar from Mar on the Run chose Holiday Wish List for this week’s Friday Five. Seeing as how Hanukkah is about half over, it’s a little late for that for me.

Unless some sugar daddy wants to send me gifts? Didn’t think so.
So, instead, I want to share the worm with you. What the heck is a worm? The website explains:

The Original Worm is made of high density, solid, rubber balls sealed in a hand washable neoprene casing that molds itself to your body contours.

I apologize for the poor photos — I’d hoped to take better ones, but unfortunately this week just didn’t cooperate with me.

Don’t be scared; here are 5 reasons you may just want to put it on your own holiday list!

Racecations
I’m trying to run a half in every state. Living in upstate NY, there are a lot of states around me and we’ve been lucky enough to drive to most of my halfs.

But I’ve flown to a few, we’re running out of states that are within driving distance (although there are a few more to go), and I almost always run on vacation.

For someone who struggles with ITBS, warming up is very important to me. So I travel with the stick. My stick is small, but it still just barely fits into a carryon.

See that pink thing amongst my traveling self message accoutrements? That’s the worm (it comes in both pink and black and in 2 different sizes). As you can see, it can easily fit into a large purse, let alone a carryon.

Races
Like I said, I take my warmups very seriously. I’ll admit sometimes I skip them in the excitement of a race, but 90% of the time I have my trusty stick with me; only now most likely it will be the worm.

Both the stick and the worm are very good self massage tools, but I’ll admit the small footprint of the worm makes it very attractive to bring everywhere.

 

To get in those tight spots
I haven’t given up on my foam roller (see it right next to me?). I still like it for post run rolling.

The worm, by its very nature, just gets into those hard to reach tight spots better — the fact that there are 4 balls in there makes rolling out my very tight back a pleasure.

I do find it very difficult, but not impossible, to use the worm on the floor to roll out my back. But it works very well when you’re against a wall.

Yoga
I love me some yoga. I’ve been practicing for decades. I can never stuff yoga blocks in my suitcases, though; not with all that running stuff!

The worm to the rescue: you can sit on it, put it under your knees like a bolster, put it under your arms in certain poses, put it under your hips/back for supported bridges and shoulder stands — your only limitation is your imagination.

For your animals!
Lola has back issues. She may technically be a long haired chihuahua, but she has the back of a daschund and the back issues to go with it.

I’ve tried the stick out on her: she doesn’t seem to care for it. She seems a bit suspicious of the worm, here, too, but you’ll notice she’s not going anywhere, either.

Final thoughts
There is really very little negative about the worm. You can buy it through Amazon or the website. The price is very reasonable.

I did find rolling my calves and hamstrings on the floor a bit difficult because of its low profile; I prefer to do that with my foam roller.

On the other hand, on the go, it’s easy to get into those areas standing (the same may be said of the stick, but the stick doesn’t mold to your body the way the worm does).

I chose to get the smaller size, since I’m vertically challenged, as they say. I do kind of regret it and just may have to get the larger size, too. Because I love using it as a bolster under my knees in savasana, but it just barely fits (or maybe I just need one under each leg).

When I saw the worm on a post on Instagram, I just knew I had to try it. I reached out to the company (a small company out of Austin, TX, where I lived for 17 years — they have much better videos on their website, and I know where some of those were taken!). They provided me with the worm in exchange for this review.

You can connect with the Original Worm on Facebook, @theoriginalworm on Instagram, and @Original_Worm on Twitte for upcoming sales before the holiday.

Or just use RUNJUDY20 for 20% off through Sunday — US residents only, please (not an affiliate link). The Worm would make a great stocking stuffer for runners.

 Do you have a favorite self massage tool?