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Have you experienced
muscle soreness a day or even hours after a particularly strenuous
workout? If so, this is possibly because you have neglected the
cool-down routine.
A lot of people consider the cool-down routine an absolute waste of
time, while in fact this is just as important as the warm-up routine
though for different reasons altogether. The warm-up routine helps
you prepare yourself for strenuous activity, while the cool-down
promotes recovery and helps return your body to a pre-workout state.
A strenuous workout puts your body through a number of stressful
processes. Your muscles, tendons and ligaments are in a state of
stress. Once the heart rate is upped, the heart starts pumping a
large amount of blood to the working muscles. The muscle then uses
the oxygen and the nutrients and pushes the blood back to the heart
for re-oxygenation. When the exercise or contraction stops, there is
no force to push the blood back into the heart, which results in the
blood and waste products like lactic acid “pooling’ around the
muscle. If not released this leads to post-workout muscle soreness.
Therefore the aim of the cool-down routine is to promote recovery by
returning your body to a pre-workout level and prepare your body for
the next workout session.
The cool-down routine consists of gentle exercise, typical of the
activity you have been involved in. Some deep breathing will also
help oxygenate your system. Once the heart rate is brought back to
almost normal, follow it up with a round of stretching exercises.
Static stretching is recommended during the cool-down phase. Most
importantly remember to re-fuel with fluid and food. Plenty of
water, sport drink intake if necessary and also food that is easily
digestible is recommended. The gentle exercise, deep breathing,
stretching routines and re-fuel are all important constituents and
should not be neglected.
The cool-down routine will help you recover faster, stay injury free
and better still be in better shape for the next serious workout.
Any serious athlete will always plan their activity to include the
pre-workout warm-up routine and the post-workout cool-down routine.
COOL DOWN AND FEEL THE DIFFERENCE |
