If you are new to this word “muscle cool down” and curious to know what it exactly means, then you are at the right place read below.
The muscle cooling down exercises is way too easier than regular weight training or other workouts. Cooling down (also called limbering down or warming down), is performed after a more intense activity or workout.
Dietary intake is also an important aspect in muscle cool down nuts like pistachios and melatonin supplements induce good sleep which helps in relaxing down the muscle and promotes quick recovery.
What happens when you do more intense training?
When the body is introduced intentionally with the heavy lifting or intensive activity in it the large muscle groups work together to perform the specific activity. Muscles make lactic acid as a by-product of intensive exercise and as this levels up, the blood pH around the muscles starts to drop. This lowering of pH eventually prevents the muscle from further contraction leading to stoppage of muscle involved activity because the muscles are no more capable of doing heavy work. Now you should relax your body so that the builds-up lactic acid gets metabolized.
What are muscle cool-down exercises?
Definition: the muscle cool down exercises and stretches are the movements of our body that we practice when we indulge in some heavy activity or heavy lift, in order to release any tension in our muscles and to relax and relieve, helps to do further activity or work.
What muscle cool-down exercises do?
The muscle cools down exercises and stretches lesser the chances of any injury, provides a boost in blood flow and helps in reduction to the stress of heart and other muscles. Including you can make your heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure to the normal levels as they are before doing intensive activities and make them work for the further continuation in the activities we are doing.
How do you cool down?
1. Cool down stretching: make yourself in the habit of cool down by doing stretching. Take approx. 15-20 minutes to stretch your body and muscles, immediately following an exercise, when your muscles are still warm.
2. Get your heart rate down: immediately with your workout activity, your heart rate rises – which is a good sign, the more blood(nutrients) the more oxygen to the muscles, working as a fuel for muscles which helps in carrying out the work.
Why is it important to cool down exercises?
Warming up before starting your workout may also help to reduce muscle soreness, stiffness and lessen your chances of injury.
Cooling down after a workout will gradually make your body recover from variated blood pressure and heart rate.
Practicing cooling down is also important for the athletes who are preparing for competitive endurance, such as marathon runners because it helps them regulate blood flow.
Examples of cool-down exercises
- Child’s pose
- Upper body stretch
- Knee-to-chest pose
- Light jogging or walking
- Seated forward bend
- Reclining butterfly pose
Foods for cool down muscle and recovery
It is important to give dietary benefits with bodily movements for fast recovery as you already know diet is a very important part of the body’s health.
Bodybuilders who break gym do prefer and take fish oil in their diets which is highly beneficial as they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). The goodness of fish oil is for eyes, heart’s health and makes muscles strong.
Try foods like-
- Oatmeal
- Cottage cheese
- Egg omelet
- Roasted veggies
- Salmon
- Sweet potato
Benefits of cool-down exercises
Some related benefits to cool-down exercises are below:
Improves relaxation
When you are doing heavy work lifts, cool-down exercises help in relaxing the muscle’s stress, tension, stiffness that occurs during the workout.
By relaxing it encourages your muscle to do more work which will benefit you in achieving your target of building muscles or any other.
It improves your confidence and boosts your motivation level which is very important in carrying out difficult activities.
Make your heart rate to normal levels
Most of the heavy workout activities lead to increasing in your heart rate. At the ending of your workout session, you want your increased heart rate to get to normal levels.
So that you will feel good, doing cool-down exercises help you to avoid light head-ness or a feeling of faintness.
Slows breathing
When your heart rate raises with the improvement of exercise, your breathing becomes deeper as well. This shows that your body is working hard to do something done and burning more calories during exercise.
A cool-down exercise helps in getting back the breath to normal levels and at the same rhythm, it was before you had started your workout.
Can I do muscle cool-down exercises daily?
If you are a fitness trainer or athlete or sports person, who daily train themselves for further competitions in their life. For that, they have to do hard work and hard training which puts stress in their muscles daily increases heart levels, etc. So it becomes more important to them to do muscle cool-down exercises on a daily basis which benefits them in many ways. The cooldown for athletes usually includes gentler cardiovascular exercises and stretching movements which also build up their cardiovascular endurance, which will help the body dispose of any harmful toxins that cause muscle stiffness and aches.
But if you are a normal person who is just doing fitness practices for your passion and interest, who doesn’t have to perform at stages or marathons or in running grounds where others do.
The answer is yes, you can do muscle cool-down exercises on a daily basis as it will only help to improve your body capacity or functions. Doing daily cooldown only benefits you as it doesn’t have any side effects shown or disadvantages to do it.
The only thing you will get is daily improvement in your body.
Conclusion
The article is about muscle cool-down exercises. An overview of it, benefits, examples, and many more. Do read and enjoy the value which will lead and progress you further in maintaining a healthy body and making you progress further. It encourages you to do cool down while introducing its exciting benefits to health.
