When you work out, your heart rate and your blood pressure go up. After you exercise, you have to cool down so that they will return to normal.
Cooling down is the time that your muscles, ligaments, and tendons will recover from the trauma caused by your workout. As they heal, the muscles become bigger and harder and your tendons and ligaments become stronger.
Neglecting to cool down can cause your heart rate to go down abruptly. When this happens, your blood pressure will go down suddenly.
The large amount of blood that was pumped into your veins will flow slowly, flooding your veins and causing you to feel dizzy and even faint.
Cooling down will gradually decrease your heart rate and blood pressure until they are the same as before you start your routine.
How are you going to cool down? Here are some of the most effective ways to do it.
1. Brisk Walking
If you have run for several miles and you have already reached your goal, do not stop and sit right away. Walk around briskly until you feel your heartbeat slowing down.
Once you feel that your heart rate is back to normal, you can take a seat and relax.
If you are running on a treadmill, you can set it to cool down, and you can now do some brisk walks.
2. Stretching
Weightlifting can put strain on your muscles, ligaments, and tissues. After your workout, do not take a rest right away.
Do some stretching (either dynamic stretching or static stretching) to get rid of the tension in your body as you exert effort to lift heavy weights.
Right after you exercise, your muscles are soft and supple so that stretching becomes easy.
Focus on the muscle groups that you have targeted during your workout. It will make you perform better and increase the range of your movements.
3. Slow Jogging
After an intense workout, jogging in place or around at a slow pace will help maintain the flow of blood to the muscles and back to the heart.
As you feel your heart beat decreasing, slow down as well. This will result in a smooth transition of your body from a tensed to a relaxed state.
4. Massaging
Using a foam roller or a tennis ball, massage your body. Focus on the areas of the body where there is tension, and massage until it becomes relaxed.
This will help normalise the blood flow in your body, reduce tension, and increase your mobility.
You can also use a massage gun to help with the recovery. Check out the top massage guns you can get here in Australia.
5. Taking Yoga Poses
Athletes exert so much effort during a game. Their heart rate and blood pressure go up and so it is important to cool down right after each game.
One recommended exercise after your exertions is yoga. There are some yoga postures that are intended to relax your muscles, slow down your heart rate, and decrease blood pressure.
These include the table pose, the cat pose, and the cobra pose, to name a few.
6. Hydrating
When you work out, water comes out of your body in the form of sweat. The water that you have expended must be replaced so that you can prevent experiencing soreness of the muscles.
How many glasses of water must you drink after your training?
To have a clear idea about the amount of water that you have lost when you work out, weigh yourself before you start your routine. Then, do this again after you are done with your training.
The difference between your before and after weight represents the amount of water that you have lost. You can recover it by drinking the same amount of water in weight.
8. Enjoying a Protein Shake
After you have intensely exercised, your body needs to rebuild your muscles and make them stronger. To be able to do this, you must take in protein and carbohydrates.
When these nutrients are absorbed by the muscles in the body, they will become bigger, firmer, and stronger.
You can buy protein powders that you can make into a shake instantly. Add carbohydrates to make it more effective.
Bottom Line
Remember these ways of cooling down every time you finish your daily routine. With these tips, you will surely achieve a muscular, strong, lean, and firm body.
More Questions About Cooling Down After a Workout
1. What are the best warm-ups and cool downs for a rowing machine?
Warming up and cooling down let you optimise your indoor rowing workout. Squats, lunges, pushups, short extensions, and cat position poses are excellent warm-up moves. To cool down, you can do hamstring and hip flex stretches, lion poses, and lower back twists.
2. How should I stretch before and after exercise bike workouts?
Choose stretching exercises that you can do with confidence, or start slow when trying new moves. Ideally, perform dynamic stretching to warm up, and go for static stretches to cool down after cycling. Check out our article on stretching before and after bike workouts for specific examples.
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