Cool Down after Exercise – Why should we do it?
Cool Down after Exercise – Why do we do it?
You have had a hard session, you are running late for the next thing, stuff it, I don’t need to cool down!
In our busy lives, the cool down is usually the first thing to go.[i]
Most of us have been there, I suspect.
But why do we cool down? Why is it important?
Blood Pooling
This is probably one of the most important reasons for us to cool down.
Ever see the finish line of a marathon? The runners push and cross the line aft a truly marathon effort, they cross the line, they get their medal, they stop and then they collapse.
Most of us think this collapse is due to pure exhaustion but often it is due blood pooling.
When we run, our heart is pumping fast to get oxygen to your our muscles.
This blood goes from our heart to our feet and back to our heart to get more oxygen (against gravity). Our blood vessels are also dilated to help with the increased blood flow.[ii]
The blood returns against gravity largely due to our muscles squeezing the veins
When we stop suddenly, we stop using our muscles and they stop squeezing the blood back to our heart as much. The blood gets stuck down near our feet and can’t get to your heart or brain where is it needed. Without blood to the brain, we get lightheaded, dizzy and faint.
But cooling down, we let our body adjust by letting our heart rate come down slowly. This helps prevent blood pooling and collapsing after exercise.[iii]
Reduce Soreness
Ever noticed how you don’t usually feel sore immediately after exercising but usually the day after or two days after.
This is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
A study at California State University found a reduction in DOMS with those who did a cycling cool down after strength training.[iv]
Psychological Benefits
People also find that the cool down helps them to relax psychologically after exercise.
When we exercise we often increase the fight or flight system in the body and by allowing time to cool down we can rebalance this with the rest and digest system. By cooling down we can take full advantage of the psychological benefits of exercise. [v]
It also gives us time to reflect our on accomplishments and reward ourselves for our hard work and increase our motivation for next time.[vi]
Stretching
When we exercise we cause our muscles to contract with our movements which can leave muscles tight. By stretching after exercise, we can restore the length of our muscles or increase it which helps,
Prevent back pain,
Increase our range of motion,
Reduce the risk of injury,
Increase our flexibility, and
Improve our posture.[vii]
Recovery
There is some contention here but some studies have found that cooling down helps to clear away waste products from the body generated during exercise such as lactic acid.[viii]
Immune System
After periods of prolonged or high-intensity exercise, our immune system can be temporarily depressed which can sometimes lead to us getting sick. This is often called the ‘open window’ of immunodepression.[ix] Doing an active cool down has been found may partially prevent this.
Conclusion
So ,while it is often easy to skip the cooldown due to our busy lives, cooling down can prevent us passing out, reduce soreness, helps us feel more relaxed and motivated, prevent pain, injury and improve our posture and range of motion, and may even help us to not get sick. With all these benefits, isn’t it worth the extra time to cool down? Next week we will look at how.
If you would like help recovering from exercise, why not try our Recharge Class.
We use mobility exercise, self-massage, yoga and meditation to help you recovery for your week.
www.DesignYourLife.net.au/recharge/book
[i] https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/3683/five-reasons-you-shouldn-t-skip-your-cool-down-after-exercise/
[ii] https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/warm-up-cool-down
[iii] https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/3683/five-reasons-you-shouldn-t-skip-your-cool-down-after-exercise/
[iv] https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/3683/five-reasons-you-shouldn-t-skip-your-cool-down-after-exercise/
[v] https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/3683/five-reasons-you-shouldn-t-skip-your-cool-down-after-exercise/
[vi] https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-a-cool-down-3495457
[vii]https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/5107/top-10-benefits-of-stretching/
[viii] Van Hooren, B., & Peake, J. M. (2018). Do We Need a Cool-Down After Exercise? A Narrative Review of the Psychophysiological Effects and the Effects on Performance, Injuries and the Long-Term Adaptive Response. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 48(7), 1575–1595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0916-2
[ix] Peake, J. M., Neubauer, O., Walsh, N. P., & Simpson, R. J. (2017). Recovery of the immune system after exercise. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 122(5), 1077–1087. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00622.2016
Photo by Lordn/iStock / Getty Images