Cool Down Properly for Faster Recovery & Avoid
Injury!
Cool Down
Recover Faster & Avoid Injury!
A few months ago, you may remember an issue of The
Stretching & Sports Injury Newsletter titled, "Warm
Up Activities & Stretching Exercises." If you missed
it, or would like to review it again, you can do so
by visiting
http://www.thestrechinghandbook.com/archives/warm-up.
htm. That article covered the warm up in quite some
detail, so I thought it was about time we had a look
at the other end of your work out, the Cool Down.
Many people dismiss the cool down as a waste of time,
or simply unimportant. In reality the cool down is
just as important as the warm up, and if you want to
stay injury free, it's vital.
Although the warm up and cool down are just as
important as each other, they are important for
different reasons. While the main purpose of warming
up is to prepare the body and mind for strenuous
activity, cooling down plays a different role.
Why Cool Down?
The main aim of the cool down is to promote recovery
and return the body to a pre exercise, or pre work
out level. During a strenuous work out your body goes
through a number of stressful processes. Muscle
fibres, tendons and ligaments get damaged, and waste
products build up within your body.
The cool down, performed properly, will assist your
body in its repair process. One area the cool down
will help with, is "post exercise muscle soreness."
This is the soreness that is usually experienced the
day after a tough work out. Most people experience
this after having a lay-off from exercise, or at the
beginning of their sports season. I remember running
a half marathon with very little preparation, and
finding it difficult to walk down steps the next day
because my quadriceps were so sore. That discomfort
is "post exercise muscle soreness."
This soreness is caused by a number of things.
Firstly, during exercise, tiny tears called micro
tears develop within the muscle fibres. These micro
tears cause swelling of the muscle tissues which in
turn puts pressure on the nerve endings and results
in pain.
Secondly, when exercising, your heart is pumping
large amount of blood to the working muscles. This
blood is carrying both oxygen and nutrients that the
working muscles need. When the blood reaches the
muscles the oxygen and nutrients are used up. Then
the force of the contracting (exercising) muscles
pushes the blood back to the heart where it is
re-oxygenated.
However, when the exercise stops, so does the force
that pushes the blood back to the heart. This blood,
as well as waste products like lactic acid, stays in
the muscles, which in turn causes swelling and pain.
This process is often referred to as "blood pooling."
So, the cool down helps all this by keeping the blood
circulating, which in turn helps to prevent blood
pooling and also removes waste products from the
muscles. This circulating blood also brings with it
the oxygen and nutrients needed by the muscles,
tendons and ligaments for repair.
The Key Parts of an Effective Cool Down
Now we know what the cool down does and why it is so
important, lets have a look at the structure of an
effective cool down. There are three key elements, or
parts, which should be included to ensure an
effective and complete cool down. They are;
1. Gentle exercise;
2. Stretching; and
3. Re-fuel.
All three parts are equally important and any one
part should not be neglected or thought of as not
necessary. All three elements work together to repair
and replenish the body after exercise.
To follow are two examples of effective cool downs.
The first is an example of a cool down used by a
professional athlete. The second is typical of
someone who simply exercises for general health,
fitness and fun.
Cool Down Routines
Example 1: - For the Professional
* 10 to 15 minutes of easy exercise. Be sure that the
easy exercise resembles the type of exercise that was
done during your work out. For example, if your
workout involved a lot of running, cool down with
easy jogging or walking.
* Include some deep breathing as part of your easy
exercise to help oxygenate your system.
* Follow with about 20 to 30 minutes of stretching.
Static stretching and PNF stretching is usually best.
* Re-fuel. Both fluid and food are important. Drink
plenty of water, plus a good quality sports drink.
The best type of food to eat straight after a work
out is that which is easily digestible. Fruit is a
good example.
Example 2: - For the Amateur
* 3 to 5 minutes of easy exercise. Be sure that the
easy exercise resembles the type of exercise that was
done during your work out. For example, if your
workout involved a lot of running, cool down with
easy jogging or walking.
* Include some deep breathing as part of your easy
exercise to help oxygenate your system.
* Follow with about 5 to 10 minutes of stretching.
Static stretching and PNF stretching is usually best.
* Re-fuel. Both fluid and food are important. Drink
plenty of water, plus a good quality sports drink.
The best type of food to eat straight after a work
out is that which is easily digestible. Fruit is a
good example.
Getting serious about your cool down and following
the above examples will make sure you recover quicker
from your work outs, and stay injury free.
Brad Walker. Brad is a leading stretching
and sports injury consultant with over 15 years
experience in the health and fitness industry. For
more articles on the prevention & treatment of sports
injury, subscribe to The Stretching & Sports Injury
Newsletter by visiting
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/
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