Whether you’re lifting weights at the gym or returning from a 10k run, consideration of a post-exercise cool-down is essential to help prevent injury, relieve delayed-onset muscle soreness ( DOMS). (opens in a new tab) and stretch your muscles.
Cooling down after exercise is just as important as warming up, helping blood to continue circulating in the body and preventing unpleasant side effects, such as dizziness, which can occur when a sudden cessation of exercise lowers our blood pressure.
Although there are many ways to cool down after exercise, stretching tends to be the most commonly used method. You can do this without any tools, just hold each stretch for 10-30 seconds, or if you really want to step up your cool-down routine, you can incorporate one of the best foam rollers out there. (opens in a new tab) or the best massage guns (opens in a new tab).
To find out more about why a post-exercise recovery routine is so important, we spoke to our sports and physiology experts, to find out why it’s so essential to recovery, the best way to cool down after a workout and an example of stretches we can incorporate into our routine.
Why cooling off after exercise is important
Many of us know that warming up before exercise is a great way to prevent injury and improve blood circulation, but your post-exercise cool-down session is just as vital.
“To understand why post-exercise cooling matters, we first need to understand what happens during exercise,” says Uzo Ehiogu, a musculoskeletal physiotherapist (MSK rehabilitation) at the Royal Orthopedic Hospital, Birmingham, UK. -United. “During exercise, we subject the body to stress, which can affect both muscle, connective tissue, neurological tissue and bone.”
The Ehiogu Way
A former Royal Marines Commando, British Army officer and military paratrooper, Uzo is an NHS Clinical Lecturer at the Royal Orthopedic Hospital, Birmingham and a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist.
Whether you’re training intensely or less intensely, exercise puts stress on your body, which, as Ehiogu explains, facilitates the breakdown of body tissues and physiology.
“The process of cooling down after exercise leads to the restoration of the body’s ability to function and recover, and over a long period this leads to improved performance. However, more specifically, cooling is often associated with improvements in circulation. This consequently leads to the elimination of metabolic by-products after strenuous exercise and may facilitate a reduction in muscle and tendon stiffness.
How to properly cool down after a workout
“Once you’ve completed your main exercise component, a short period of progressively slower, less strenuous exercise can be beneficial as part of the recovery process, like yoga,” says Ehiogu. “This is beneficial when the exercise is low intensity and is designed to return your body to its pre-exercise physiological state.
It is also beneficial to include stretching exercises to help improve your flexibility. (opens in a new tab). These exercises can be static stretching activities, which improve the major muscle groups you used during the exercise. For example, if you were jogging, muscle groups such as calf muscles, quadriceps muscles, and gluteal muscles would all be used. Engaging in static stretching exercises for these muscles to develop and maintain flexibility would benefit your long-term recovery.
Recover stretches to try
Stretching is a great way to keep DOMS at bay, lower your heart rate, and lower your body temperature if you’ve been sweating too much. Stretching can be both dynamic and static. The main difference between the two is that the former involves muscle movement, while the latter involves maintaining the movement for a period of between 30 and 60 seconds. Usually a combination of the two is preferable. A return to calm is just as important. Urban Body physical therapist Phil Evans suggests the following poses
Urban Body’s lead physiotherapist, Phil Evans, has a private clinic in Solihull and was an official physiotherapist at this year’s Commonwealth Games, working with elite athletes.
child pose
- Start on all fours (your hands and knees).
- Rest your butt on your heels.
- Stretch your hands forward, dropping your head between your shoulders toward the floor. You will feel this stretch in your back and arms.
- Hold the stretch for 60 to 90 seconds without the discomfort level exceeding 4/10.
pigeon pose
- Start on all fours (your hands and knees).
- Bring your right knee forward and get as much external rotation in your hip as possible.
- Put your leg on the mat and lower your chest towards the floor as far as you can. You will feel this stretch through your right buttock/hip.
- Hold the stretch for 60 to 90 seconds without the discomfort level exceeding 4/10.
- Repeat for your left hip.
This article is not intended to offer medical advice and readers should consult their doctor or health care professional before adopting any diet or exercise regimen.
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