Your exercise regime may be highly effective to push you further and your muscles workout. Also, it may enhance your stamina hard. And you are very much aware of pre-workout activities like muscle stretching but are you aware of cool-down activities after exercise? To your knowledge, this is an intrigued part of the whole workout process. So, before you head off for your well-deserved shower and drink, take some time to cool down. This takes hardly 4 -10 min depending on the exercise you are doing an extremely important for your blood pressure and muscle health. There are also other benefits of it which we will discuss in this blog.
Related post – How to know when you need weight gain
Why a cool down after exercise is necessary?
There are many reasons for which you should take some time aside for post-workout cool-down steps. As we know warm-up exercise is necessary before a workout to prevent injury during exercise and it increases the heart rate gradually. On the contrary, post-workout exercise reduces the heart rate gradually, also helps to avoid injury, and stretches you out.
Here are the benefits of cooling down –
Lower the heart rate
This is maybe the most important reason for cooling down after exercise. During exercise, our heart rate goes up and it pumps more blood around our body. This is required to supplement our muscles. But after we stop exercising our heart rate falls down and after some time goes to normal. However, if this happens on of a sudden then there is a chance of a sudden fall of blood pressure. As a result, you may feel dizzy or lightheaded which is dangerous. This is especially true in extreme weather or if you have any pre-existing medical conditions. Cooling down helps you to avoid such drastic pressure changes.
Prevent injuries
Like warming up, cooling down with post-workout exercise has huge benefits in preventing muscle injuries and tears or strains. Muscles need to be stretched while they are still warm. This elongates the muscle fibers. But without this stretching out muscle recovery takes a longer time and it also becomes painful.
Relax our mind
Exercise is not only beneficial for our body but also for the mind. It vibes a good mood and a positive outlook. With five to ten minutes cool down activities you can look over your accomplishment. You can also retrospect your goals and fitness. Exercising and especially cooling down provides an opportunity for contemplation on the self and mind, while allowing your body to begin its recovery.
What are the methods of cool down?
As mentioned a cool-down process may take anywhere between 4 to 10 minutes. If your cool-down regime sits at the end of the work out go for specific stretches that work for you. Suppose you are in the cardio workout as part of your cool-down exercise you must cool down by gradually slowing down your pace and finally turning it into a gentle walk. This will gradually slow down your heart rate make it return to its normal pace. This will help the blood pressure to get normal gradually.
Stretching
While normalizing heart rate and blood pressure is one-half of the cool down equation, stretching out of muscles is another half. It increases the range of motion in the joints and increases flexibility. There are various types of stretches that may work for you and very specific with the types of exercise you are doing like –
- Lunge Stretch
- Hip Flexor Stretch
- Thigh Stretch
- Buttock Stretch
- Wide Toe Touch
- Arm-Cross Shoulder Stretch
These are some of the stretches. For more specific stretches and their application, you must consult with your fitness coaches.