How to cool down after a workout. Cool down after running Cool down after running

Cooling down after a workout is as important an element of preparation as the workout itself. Many people neglect it, which is a big mistake. From this article you will learn how to properly cool down after a workout, why it is needed, and what happens when after a hard workout a person does not cool down at all.

Why do you need a cool down?

A cool-down is needed so that your muscles and the body as a whole recover faster after the workout.

It is quite obvious that the faster and better your body recovers, the more efficiently and effectively you will be able to perform your next workout. And also prevent the body from overworking.

In the graph below you can clearly see that the level of lactate (lactic acid) in the muscles disappears 3 times faster during active recovery than during passive recovery. On the graph L is the level of lactate in muscles. This is where the need arises for slow running after training - to reduce the level of lactate in the muscles as quickly as possible.

How to Cool Down

The cool down in almost all sports has the same pattern. After training, you need to perform some kind of cyclic type of exercise at low intensity for 5-10 minutes. For example, slow running or cycling without exertion. After this, a series of static stretching exercises is performed.

However, the very essence of execution is different. Namely, during warm-up it is best to perform dynamic stretching, that is, stretch and weaken each muscle with repeated movements.

During the cool-down, it is necessary, on the contrary, to focus on static stretching - that is, when performing exercises, fixate in a position in which the muscle stretches. And stay in this position for 5-10 seconds. Then loosen and repeat 1-2 more times. And so on for every muscle that was involved during the workout.

What happens if you don't cool down?

The biggest danger of not doing a cool-down is injury. If the muscles are not relaxed after a workout, then when performing the next workout, the overstrained muscles have a high chance of getting a sprain or other injury. Thus, overstrained calves can cause inflammation of the periosteum.

Cooling down speeds up the recovery process, so if you train at least 4 times a week, then without a cool down it will be more difficult for your body to recover from another workout. And the muscles and internal organs cannot approach the next lesson in full combat readiness. Sooner or later this will result in overwork.

Conclusion

A cool-down, which consists of slow running and static stretching exercises, should be performed after any intense workout to speed up recovery and prevent injury. If your workout was a slow run, which in itself is a cool-down, there is no point in doing 5-10 minutes of slow running after such a cross-country run. But it won’t hurt to do a few muscle stretching exercises.

But the final stage is no less important - the cool-down, which is performed after training. What is it and why is it needed?

Cooling down is exercise after running. It essentially contradicts all the training done before it. If we increase our heart rate during the training process, a cool-down helps it return to its normal state. During the training process, the muscles tense up and work more actively.. When you cool down, their activity slows down and gradually returns to a state of rest.

A cool-down is essentially a simple post-workout stretch with some light cardio thrown in. It helps normalize pulse and body temperature. Thus, we can say that it is a warm-up performed exactly the opposite.

What is it done for?

During physical activity, and running is no exception, lactic acid is produced and accumulated in the muscles. Because of this, characteristic muscle pain is felt, called soreness. Doing a warm-up after exercise helps restore muscles and relieve muscle fatigue.

Cooling down while running performs the following tasks:

normalization of body temperature;
decreased levels of lactic acid in muscles;
stress relief;
restoration of normal blood circulation;
normalization of the tone of intramuscular veins.

Athletes claim that stopping abruptly while running fast is unsafe, since the cardiovascular system will experience severe stress.

Thanks to the cool-down, the body smoothly returns to a state of rest, normal breathing is restored, and the emotional state returns to normal.

IMPORTANT! Cool down should be done immediately after running. It won't be a big deal if a couple of minutes pass and the athlete catches his breath after a run. If the run was not fast, you can cool down after the finish. However, if you do not start a cool-down within five minutes, the effect will be significantly reduced. And this time may fall below the limit that a cool-down implies, but it is aimed precisely at moving from activity to rest.

What exercises should I do?

Cooling down after a run most often consists of low-intensity cardio and stretching. The simplest, and at the same time useful option is jogging. That is, after finishing the main run, you do not stop, but gradually reduce your running pace.

This helps reduce stress, restore the functioning of the cardiovascular, respiratory and other systems, and remove remaining lactic acid from the body. Even ten minutes of easy running with a heart rate of up to 120 beats per minute is enough for full recovery.

When you cool down, exercises are also useful: aimed at stretching, flexibility, strengthening ligaments and joints. They are mostly static, so you can start doing them immediately after running.

Beginning runners can use regular walking as a cool-down. Its duration should be standard - about 10-15 minutes. From a fast pace you need to move to a smooth slowdown.

Here are some examples of exercises suitable for cool down::

The main idea behind the cool-down is that it should be done at a low heart rate. Therefore, you cannot run fast at this time. While doing the exercises, you can drink water - this will help replenish the body’s supply of fluids lost during the main exercise.

How to properly stretch muscles?

Cool down usually includes stretching. It helps prevent muscle pain. Many girls who play sports are afraid to overly pump up their leg muscles. Stretching will help prevent this and make your body contours more feminine. Also, such exercises are great for relaxing and returning the body to a calm state.

When performing stretching exercises, adhere to the following rules:

You only need to stretch warmed muscles.
Don't pull the muscles too hard. If pain occurs, stop.
When stretching, sudden movements are not allowed. You need to stretch smoothly and slowly.

We offer several simple and effective stretching exercises:

Neck. Smoothly turn your head to the side and hold in this position to feel the tension in the muscles. Repeat the same for the second side. In total you need to do 3-4 repetitions.
Back. You need to bend your arm at the elbow, lift it up and put it behind your back. With your other hand, try to pull your elbow back. The shoulders should stretch, as well as the latissimus dorsi muscle. Similar actions are repeated for the second hand.
Shoulders. The right hand needs to be moved to the left in front of the body. With your left hand, bring it closer to your body. The same must be done by changing hands. Hold in the extreme position for a couple of seconds.
Side bends. They need to be performed smoothly and slowly, slightly lingering in the final position and moving slightly in the ground.
Legs. The simplest exercise. You need to lay out the mat, sit down, spread your legs as wide as possible. Perform alternate bends to each of the legs, then to the center.
Standing stretch. You need to bend one leg at the knee and pull it to your stomach with your hands and stay in this position. This will help relax the hamstrings and gluteal muscles.
Reverse exercise. You need to put your bent leg back, grab your toe with your hand and reach for your buttocks. This way you stretch the anterior thigh muscle.
To relax the lower leg, one leg should be bent at the knee, the second should be placed on the heel slightly in front. You need to grab the sock with your hand and pull it towards you. The back should be bent.

ATTENTION! During the stretching process, you should clearly feel the muscles you are stretching.

How long does the cool down last?

The standard cool-down duration is 10-15 minutes. This is enough to restore the pace and normal heart rate, returning to a state of rest without stress for the body.

REFERENCE. If you run outside in cold temperatures, it is recommended to cool down indoors to avoid hypothermia.

Useful video

Cooling down after running will help the body return from training mode to rest mode and recover more efficiently. By performing simple exercises, you will get maximum results from your workout and prevent discomfort in the muscles.

So, the last segment is done! But this does not mean that you should stop right away or rush to change clothes and close the “carbohydrate window”. Cooling down after running allows you to smoothly transfer the body from training mode to normal mode, and also get the maximum effect from the workout.

In the previous publication we already talked about before running. But an equally important component of training is exercise after running - the so-called cool-down.

The cool-down is the final part of almost every workout in endurance sports, including running. The duration of the cool-down, depending on the intensity of the workout and the availability of time, will vary from 10 to 20 minutes.

Why do you need a cool down?

First of all, a cool-down allows you to smoothly reduce the load on the cardiovascular system and the intensity of your heart’s work. Thus, the increased heart rate and blood pressure during the main workout gradually return to their normal levels. An abrupt stop immediately after performing exercises can lead to a sharp decrease in blood pressure and, as a result, to loss of consciousness.

In addition, during training, the concentration in the blood, muscles, and organs increases and various metabolic products accumulate: lactate, stress hormones, carbon dioxide, free radicals, etc. It takes time to remove or neutralize them. This is precisely what low-intensity work during the cool-down contributes to.

Another reason to do exercises after running is the opportunity to relax the muscles and ligaments, relieving residual tension and smoothly preparing the body to exit the training mode into a state of rest and recovery. Without a cool-down, cooling of the muscles can be accompanied by stagnation of blood and, as a result, the occurrence of discomfort and pain.

And, of course, the cool-down also provides gradual inhibition of the nervous system. This may be even more important if the workout takes place in the evening to avoid overstimulation and sleep problems.

When to Cool Down

To obtain maximum effect and benefit, the cool-down is performed almost immediately after the completion of the main part of the workout, until the heart rate () falls below the pulse zone in which the cool-down itself will be carried out.

Important points to cool down after running

The cool-down, as mentioned above, should be done almost immediately after completing the main workout. Performing a cool-down a few minutes afterward significantly reduces its effectiveness (primarily for the cardiovascular system), and after 5 minutes or more, it actually neutralizes the effect.

After low-intensity workouts (jogging, easy running), a cool-down is not necessary. The load from such training is small, so the body's systems will transition quite smoothly from training to rest. At the same time, performing stretching exercises, strengthening joints, and general physical training even after light training gives a fairly good effect to increase the level of fitness.

In winter, as well as in autumn and spring, when training takes place outside at low temperatures, cool-down stretching and flexibility exercises must be done indoors to avoid hypothermia.

Cool-down exercises after running

One of the most versatile cool-down exercises is post-run stretching. Jogging helps reduce increased stress and normalize the functioning of the heart, lungs and other organs, as well as remove remaining lactate from the muscles. Even 10 minutes of jogging at up to 120 beats per minute will be enough for effective recovery.

It will be equally useful to perform sets of exercises during the cool-down to stretch, develop flexibility, and strengthen joints and ligaments. Such post-run exercises involve both legs and arms, as well as the core muscles, and place virtually no strain on the cardiovascular system. Since most of these exercises are performed statically, you should start them after jogging. How to cool down after a run, as well as stretching exercises after running, are presented in the VIDEO:

For lovers of trail running, you can also use a slightly different set of stretching exercises, which takes into account the specifics of this type of running VIDEO:

For beginners or those whose level of training is not yet high, it is recommended to use simple walking as a cool-down after running. The duration of such a cool-down is also about 10-15 minutes, with a transition from a fast pace to a gradual slowdown.

Thus, exercise after running is simply necessary for a smooth transition of the body from training mode to rest mode and subsequent recovery. A high-quality cool-down allows you to get the maximum effect from your workout.

In contrast to a warm-up, which is necessary to prepare the body for intense physical activity, the main goal of a cool-down is to return your body to a resting state as efficiently and safely as possible. However, can its implementation speed up recovery processes and improve our results?

Traditionally, many coaches and runners believe that a post-workout cool-down (an easy 2-3km run) is an important element that can optimize the body's overall recovery.

Cooling down has been scientifically proven to cause a more gradual decrease in body temperature after strenuous exercise than simply resting 1 . There is also evidence in the scientific literature that the correct transition from a tense state of the body to a calm one can lead to improved sleep 2 .

However, the key question remains - can cool-down influence recovery in a way that leads to improved athletic performance? In search of an answer, researchers Thomas Reilly and M. Rigby looked at different post-exercise strategies used by two groups of collegiate athletes 3 .

The first group of football players "cooled down" after training during the week before the main match (5 minutes of jogging, 5 minutes of stretching and 2 minutes of shaking and massaging the relaxed leg muscles), while the athletes from the second simply rested while sitting for 12 minutes.

Immediately after the end of the competition, the researchers changed the protocol: those who did the cool-down now rested, and the players in the second group cooled down and used it as a recovery method for the next week.

According to the results of the study, those athletes who “cooled down” immediately after the match showed better results in long and high jumps, and fully recovered after 48 hours. Additionally, their performance in 30-meter sprints was 50% better than the group that did not cool down. (All tests were carried out immediately after the match).

Unfortunately, the exact mechanisms that led to these results remain unclear, as the cool-down consisted of three different elements (running, stretching, and shaking), and the specific role of each is not entirely clear.

Hitch and Lactic Acid

There is a common belief that doing a cool-down helps lower blood lactate levels faster than simply resting. This theory is based in part on research by Arend Bonen and his colleague Angelo Belcastro, who examined lactate levels in well-trained runners after a 1-mile race.

When the athletes did a cool-down, which consisted of continuous jogging, blood lactate concentrations returned to near-normal levels within 20 minutes. In contrast, using a combination of light exercise and jogging had a much more modest effect, and simply resting for 20 minutes reduced lactic acid levels by only half. Similar results were found in a separate study when athletes either jogged or rested without doing anything after an intense workout 5 .

However, the main misconception is that increased levels of lactic acid in the blood after exercise are bad, and therefore removing it quickly is beneficial. Lactate is an excellent source of energy for skeletal and cardiac muscles, therefore, a high concentration of lactate in the blood can be considered a positive phenomenon, since the “fuel” will be widely distributed throughout the body.

Increasing blood lactate levels is a natural result of performing intense training above the TNA level.

In the two studies mentioned earlier, active cool-downs resulted in decreased lactic acid levels because they were performed at an intensity below the TARP. In other words, the rate of lactate absorption into the muscles was higher than its production; in fact, the muscles used the lactate in the blood as an energy source. And in these processes there is nothing that could affect the restoration of the body.

Cooldown and potential harm to recovery

Physiologist Dave Costill of Ball State University says that in many cases, an active cool-down can harm the recovery process and reduce performance in subsequent training or competitions 6 .

Together with his Swedish colleague Bengt Saltin, he discovered that up to 75 percent of the glycogen used up during a strenuous workout can be restored quite quickly in the leg muscles if runners rest rather than jog after completing the workout 7 .

Because high-intensity training requires sufficient muscle glycogen reserves, scientists have concluded that long cool-downs should be avoided when heavy or long training sessions are performed over several days in a row.

However, how does this compare to the Reilly study, which claimed that cooling down promotes recovery? First, in those cases, the cool-down consisted of only 5 minutes of jogging, which is not enough to significantly affect muscle glycogen stores. Secondly, stretching may have had a positive effect, since it does not require the use of precious glycogen reserves; Some studies have also shown that stretching improves intramuscular glycogen synthesis.

Cooldown and cardiac arrhythmia

Failure to cool down properly can increase your chance of experiencing a potentially dangerous condition called cardiac arrhythmia. However, studies have shown that after an intense workout, it's perfectly acceptable to jog or just lie on your back after an intense workout!

The real problem can arise if a runner decides to just stand after completing a workout. During heavy physical activity, the concentration of norepinephrine in the blood increases significantly. This hormone is an important regulator of blood pressure and also causes an increase in cardiac output.

Norepinephrine levels may rise critically after completing an intense workout to prevent a rapid drop in blood pressure. Unfortunately, high concentrations of norepinephrine are associated with an increased risk of irregular heartbeat. Standing still after a hard workout is a bad idea because it causes your blood pressure to plummet (meaning your leg muscles stop pushing blood up toward your heart). This releases more norepinephrine to increase blood pressure and therefore increases the likelihood of arrhythmia.

In contrast, jogging, walking, or lying on your back during a cool-down helps stabilize blood pressure: running and walking keep your heart rate naturally and keep blood flowing to your leg muscles, and lying down allows blood to flow back to your heart more easily because she doesn't need to go up. As a result, less norepinephrine is released and the risk of arrhythmia is reduced 8 .

Cool down examples

Option 1. In his book Meb For Mortals: How to Run, Think, and Eat like a Champion Marathoner, silver medalist of the 2004 Olympic Games in marathon running, as well as winner of the New York (2009) and Boston (2014) marathons, Meb Keflizighi recommends at least 10 minutes of jogging after hard and intense training. This will help reduce muscle soreness, he says, and you'll feel significantly better the next day than if you simply completed the workout.

Option 2. In the book “Serious Training for Endurance Runners,” the authors suggest doing a short cool-down (5-10 minutes of easy running) after a hard session if you have another hard workout coming up in the next 24 hours, and 15-30 minutes of jogging if you have an easy workout planned. day. During the cool-down, you should avoid hypothermia or overheating; you should feel comfortable. The cool-down may also include stretching exercises.

Bibliography:

Sleep deprivation and the athlete. In Sleep deprivation, C. Kushida, ed. New York: Marcel Decker, 2004, pp. 313-314.
Effect of an active warm-down following competitive soccer. In Science and football IV, W. Spinks, T. Reilly, and A. Murphy, eds. London: Routledge, 2002, pp. 226-229.
Lactate removal at rest and during exercise. In Metabolic adaptations to prolonged physical exercise, H. Howald and J.R. Poortmans, eds. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag, 1975, pp. 101-105.
Costill, D. Inside running: Basics of sports physiology. Indianapolis, Indiana: Benchmark Press, 1986, pp. 107-108.
Muscle glycogen and electrolytes following exercise and thermal dehydration. In Metabolic adaptations to prolonged physical exercise, H. Howald and J. R. Poortmans, eds. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag, 1975, pp. 352-360.

Most people skip the cool-down (exercises that "cool down" the body after exercise), replacing it with a few stretches and a shower. But many sports enthusiasts, coaches and instructors still believe in the benefits of cool-downs as a means of preventing muscle soreness or improving recovery. Is it really important to cool down after every workout?

There are now quite a few studies that show that cooling down after exercise does not reduce muscle soreness. This does not mean that the cool-down is useless in principle, but it will not relieve pain and will not speed up recovery.

Recent research has quite convincingly debunked the following so-called benefits of a post-workout cool-down. According to modern scientific data, a cool down has little effect on:
Pain after workout
Muscle recovery after training
Increased flexibility
Increased Strength
Injury Prevention

In fact, only a thorough warm-up before exercise is likely to reduce subsequent muscle soreness and is an effective method of injury prevention.

Cool down is the final stage of a regular workout. It includes low-intensity exercise such as low-intensity running or cycling and other forms of gentle aerobic exercise. Cooling down makes you feel better after an intense workout and improves your mental state. You can get obvious benefits from a cool-down by doing it after working at maximum intensity. Whether you're coming off a grueling submaximal-intensity workout or finishing a sprint, a cool-down will help keep you from feeling dizzy or faint. By performing low-intensity exercise immediately after high-intensity exercise, you will allow your circulatory system to slowly return to a resting state while maintaining proper blood pressure. When an athlete faints after performing maximum work (or when crossing the finish line), the mechanism of fainting in this case is explained by the fact that during running there is a significant redistribution of blood, a significant dilation of the vessels of the lower extremities and their abundant supply of arterial blood. With a sudden stop, one of the main mechanisms of blood rising through the veins to the heart against gravity stops working - the so-called “muscle pump” and blood accumulates in the dilated vessels of the lower extremities, an insufficient amount of blood enters the heart, cardiac output decreases, this impairs blood supply to the brain and fainting occurs. This condition is called postural hypotension and can also be observed during a sudden transition from a horizontal to a vertical position or during a prolonged immobile state (for example, at a parade), when blood stagnation also forms in the lower extremities and the brain is deprived of blood supply.

Cooling down has also been shown to speed up the clearance of lactate from the blood that accumulates as a result of intense exercise. This way, you can quickly get rid of swelling, acidity and “clogged” muscles after exercise. This is especially true when you need to perform maximum short-term exercise (such as sprinting) at limited intervals.

All of the above does not mean that you should stop doing cool downs if you are used to doing them. You just have to understand exactly why you are doing it, what it can help you with, and what it can’t.

Prepared by: Sergey Koval