My trusty old foam roller is still one of my favorite tools for workout recovery, which is why I was immediately intrigued by the Hyperice Vyper Go ($149). It’s described as a vibrating foam roller, which just sounds like a perfect piece of equipment — a handheld massager and a foam roller wrapped into one. Hyperice offered to let me try out the Vyper Go, and it was an immediate “yes, please” from me.
The Vyper Go is a pretty simple piece of equipment. You use it like a foam roller, rolling it over sore muscles in your legs, feet, and back, and it has three speed settings for the vibrations. It’s rechargeable and on the smaller side, which is meant to make it easier to store, pack, and travel with — a big plus for someone like me, who rarely packs a suitcase without stashing some kind of muscle massager inside.
Here’s what I thought after trying out the Vyper Go on a few sore muscles in my feet and legs.
Does the Hyperice Vyper Go Work For Sore Muscles?
I connected my Vyper Go to the Hyperice app, which has a few preset routines for feet, lower body, and general warmup and recovery. Your Vyper Go connects to the app via Bluetooth and the app then controls the vibration, increasing it at intervals while instructing you where to move the Vyper Go; for example, the lower-body routine involves using Vyper Go on your glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
What I love about the Vyper Go is that it combines the best parts of a foam roller with the benefits of a massager; if a foam roller is great for getting into big muscles, massagers can pinpoint and loosen up the little kinks. I could actually feel the moments when my muscles unlocked while using the Vyper Go, especially in my glutes and hamstrings. It was a little painful at first, the way that a massage or a stretch can be painful while unkinking a sore spot. It felt like the muscle was being gently pulled apart, so that when I finished a routine, it was light and loose instead of tight.
I tried the lower-body routine, which was great for general soreness, and the foot mobility routine, which I could see being really helpful after a long day on your feet. I’m also excited to try the app’s warmup routine, since foam rolling is usually part of my pre-workout and especially pre-run process.
The Vyper Go routines on the Hyperice app only focused on lower-body (up to the lower back), though you can try it out wherever you’d usually use a foam roller. I’d start on a lower intensity first, because the vibrations can be a bit strong when you start. Note that Hyperice recommends you use the Vyper Go on soft flooring or an exercise mat.
If you deal with a lot of muscle soreness and already love foam rolling, I definitely recommend adding the Vyper Go to your routine. I plan on using mine for warmup, cooldown, and anytime I’m dealing with muscle soreness (aka every day).
Image Source: Hyperice