3 reasons you should always do a good cooldown

From my years of working in gyms, there is one thing I notice repeatedly. If pressed for time, people skip the cooldown, instead of cutting short the main phase of their workout. While this might be okay for those who walk, jog or cycle to and from the gym, for anyone who drives it's a definite no-no!


3 Reasons to always cooldown after training
1. Reduces DOMS
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is the name given to the pain you feel a day or 2 after a strenuous workout. It generally sets in 24-48hrs after your workout, and lasts for 48-72hrs. Thats right, up to 3
days of pain after a workout. For most of us, pain isn't something we enjoy, so why not spend an extra few minutes moving about at the end of your training. It's the cooldown, so you don't even have to break a sweat, and it could save you hours of pain later in the week!

2. Improves recovery
The reason you keep moving for a cooldown has little to do with temperature, and a lot to do with making your main muscles flex and relax. This promotes blood flow to the muscles, which helps supply nutrients needed for growth and repair, as well as removing waste which is produced during exercise. But did you know blood isn't the only liquid involved in this process? There's a liquid called interstitial fluid which can get to places blood just can't reach. It's very similar to the pale yellowish liquid that comes through the skin when you graze yourself. The movement of interstitial fluid (and the nutrients/waste it contains) is helped by flexing and extending the muscles, as happens in walking cycling or many other repetitive movements. It may help to think of the muscles as behaving like a mechanical pump, moving the fluid to where it is needed most.

3. Relaxing
Lets face it, most of the time exercise isn't relaxing. Certainly, it does promote the release of endorphin and serotonin, the brains 'happy chemicals', but it's usually not very relaxing. This is even more true if you're trying to lose weight, or are following a new program with unfamiliar exercises. The cooldown serves as a bridge between the full-on 'workout mode' and the rest of your day. At this stage, you may find you start to focus more on the rest of your day/week/life, and that is as it should be. The important thing is that during the main phase of your training session you were focused on the task at hand.

What makes a good cooldown?
As with the warmup, different activities will have different requirements, but there a couple of things they have in common.

Low intensity
The goal is simply to keep the blood flowing to the muscles, and to keep the 'mechanical pump' working.

Relevant
If you've mainly been using your upper body during the main phase, then using an exercise bike for your cooldown is not ideal. It's better than nothing, but you'd really be much better off doing something that involves actions similar to those you've been doing. For example, using a cross trainer after a workout that included chest press or shoulder press will provide a more effective cooldown than a stationary bike will.

How do you know when you've done enough cooling down?
The length of a cooldown will vary according to your training program, but as a general rule, it should be at least 10 minutes.
Your muscles should feel relaxed and loose.
You've stopped sweating or are about the same temperature as before your warmup.
Your heart rate has dropped to less than 110bpm (medications can make heart rate/pulse an unreliable way of telling how well warmed up cooled down you are)
You can easily hold a conversation, and even do most of the talking.