Making the time to move your body and reach fitness goals is a process, it isn't as simple as strapping your shoes on and starting running. Before working out, you should prepare your body with the pre-workout essentials, and pay attention to what time of the day it is to best prepare.
Getting warmed up is vital for protecting your body before getting into the full swing of your workout, but what about after the workout? You still aren't done!
Cooling down is vital for protecting your body, feeling your best and even avoiding muscle soreness. Make sure that cooling down is just as important as warming up, and your workout itself.
What Is A Cooldown?
A cool-down means that you are lowering the intensity of the workout before wrapping it up. If you are doing high-impact cardio like running, slow down your pace to a jog or walk it out before sitting down.
This helps your body to regulate itself, and protect your muscles that have been working so hard during the high-intensity sector. If you have been working out, such as a HIIT workout with many different moves, do a few moves but at a slower pace. This helps your body maintain its mobility because your body is warm, but you can bring down the intensity.
Cooling down means bringing your heart rate back to normal at a good pace, and then getting into some stretches, rehydrating and even a post-workout snack.
Why Is It Important?
The biggest benefit of cooling down is to prevent muscle soreness. When you bring down the intensity and allow your body to keep moving it allows your body to maintain mobility without the risk of injury or muscle tension.
Have you ever done a serious workout and the next day you are too sore to return to the gym? Cooling down is an easy way to avoid being so sore, and to help you make fitness a daily habit.
When you are too sore to go back to the next day, it is easy to lose motivation or be unsure of when you can work out again. A workout should be fun, not painful, so cooling down is vital for allowing you to recover quickly. Cooling down is a form of active recovery such as walking, yoga and dynamic stretches.
What Does A Cool Down Look Like?
In order to cool down properly, you should definitely know what it looks like. After completing your workout, take an additional 5 to 10 minutes to properly cool down. The type of cool down should be related to the exercise you were doing, such as for running, a cool down would naturally be walking.
For gym exercises like lifting weights or doing pilates, your cool down should be some dynamic exercises like lunges or active yoga to keep your body moving but at a lower intensity. If you work out at home, complete that online video and then go for a 10-minute walk outside before stretching. It is an easy way to get outdoors and also get in some active recovery with cooling down.
Make sure to stretch after completing the cool-down process, when your muscles are warm it is easier to stretch them thoroughly and increase flexibility.
Tips For Properly Cooling Down
Follow these tips and tricks for a proper cool down and incorporate them into your fitness routine.
- Go for a short walk after working out or hit the treadmill
- Do some active yoga or pilates, it is important that the movements are not static by dynamic in the movement.
- Keep it moving, whatever you do try not to stop, simply move slower. For some yoga does not come easily, so instead do some slow squats and lunges or hip thrusts.
- Make sure your cooldown is at least 5 to 10 minutes before static stretching
- To gauge your cooldown pay attention to your breath, have you returned to resting heart rate?
- After cooling down, do some static stretches
- Hit the shower, rehydrate and have a post-workout snack
After cooling down, then you can get into your favorite static stretches, this should be the best part of a workout, almost a reward. Finally, remember to stay hydrated. If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated.
Staying hydrated for your workouts is a constant commitment to drinking water throughout the day, but after work, it is important to replace the water that you sweated out. A post-workout snack like a banana, protein shake or some nuts is also perfect to give you a blood sugar boost.
Add cooling down to your fitness routine to protect your body, and feel less sore which allows you to get back to the gym tomorrow. Cooling down is essential for making exercise a habit.
