A cool down is very important for a number
of reasons, it is a way to lower the pulse, it is stretching the muscles in the
body and it also prevents blood pooling.
Blood pooling
Firstly blood pooling is something you want
to avoid. It is something that occurs if you stop exercise too suddenly and the
heart is still beating rapidly without the legs moving. It is the lack of
pressure in the veins and the need for muscle contraction that make a cool down
essential at the end of a session. For example you could be doing a few sets on
legs raises and suddenly stop without cooling down. This could cause blood
pooling. Your heart would still be beating without your legs moving. The
collecting of blood in the legs can lead to dizziness or in worst cases even
fainting as venous return does not match cardiac output. I would always
encourage people to cool down after exercise it will leave you with a better
recovery for your next session. Cool down exercises include going on the
stepper, bike at low levels etc.
Pulse lowering
The reason pulse lowering is advised after
exercising is to gradually reduce the heart rate. Going on a step bike at a low
speed would be a good choice and every minute maybe go down a level or 2 on the
intensity. This gives the blood vessels time to return to the normal width. It
will maintain your cardiac output; remove metabolic waste products of exercise
from the muscles and in my eyes most importantly return heart rate back to
resting heart rate gradually. An example of this would be driving a car at 70
mph and doing an emergency stop every time you slow down, this wouldn’t be good
for car breaks whereas slowing down gradually and pressing the breaks pads
lightly is much better for the cars breaks.
Benefits of
stretching
Stretching is important before and after
exercise. Stretching will promote and increase flexibility and will also help
to avoid muscular imbalance. Maintenance stretching and developmental
stretching are slightly different. Maintenance Stretching is where you hold a
stretch for 10-15 seconds. This type of stretching helps to achieve a healthy
functional range of movement for everyday life. It should stop you feeling so
stiff and tight the day after you train a certain muscle group. Developmental
stretching is where you target a certain muscle which is tight or around a
certain joint where a greater range of movement is desired. This type of
stretch is held for 30 seconds at least. It is all about finding a comfortable
position and focusing on the muscle relaxing. It is vital that the muscle is
stretched to the point of tension but not pain. The muscles that will generally
be used for this type of stretch are the gastrocnemius, hamstring, adductors,
hip flexors and pectorals.
My conclusion to this is you should not
work out without a cool down and without stretching. It will prevent injury and
help the body to be much more mobile.
Corey
Hodgkinson
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