Of the 3 main components of a workout – warm-up, workout, cool-down – the cool-down is often forgotten. We live in a fast-paced world that demands us to move from one task to the next without much transition time. In this week’s article, we want to make a case for the cool-down. You’ll learn why it is important as it relates to our parasympathetic and sympathetic systems. You’ll also get 3 useful strategies to help you properly cool-down, and an instructional video from one of our personal trainers.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:
- Why Is Cool Down Important?
- Breathing Technique
- Using Heart Rate To Monitor Recovery
- Why You Should Keep Moving Post-Workout
Why Is Cool-Down Important?
Just as warming-up for a workout is important for the safety and preparation of a workout, cooling down from a workout has similar benefits. When you exercise you bring your body into a state of activity. The blood is pumping faster and harder throughout the body. Certain hormones and nutrients have been increased and some decreased so you can perform the exercises with energy, focus, and proficiency.
Related Article: Why You Should Always Warm-Up Before Your Personal Training Sessions
All of this can be summarized as the sympathetic response by the body. We have 2 main physical states – parasympathetic and sympathetic. They are more commonly known as the rest and digest, and the fight or flight response, respectively. Although we are not fighting or running from a threat when we are exercising, the biological response is the same.
When you have finished your workout and want to go for your post-workout meal or get to work you do not want to be in that fight or flight state. You want to move your body into the rest and digest state. This will redirect the blood back to the main organs, decrease your heart rate, bring your breathing rate down, and re-distribute hormones and nutrients.
Which brings us to why cool-down is so important. If you leave your session still in that sympathetic state, given the fast-paced world we live in, you’ll likely remain in that state throughout the day. This will disrupt your digestion, you’ll likely experience cravings or lack of good judgement because your body is still in a high-stress state.
Although this may not seem like that big of a deal, it should matter to you because having the body in a high-stress state for long periods of time can slow down healing, lead to chronic inflammation, and increase your risk for injury and digestive issues.
Alright. So now that we know why cooling down and getting into that rest and digest state is important, let’s get into how to properly cool down.
Breathe.
The parasympathetic and sympathetic state are both controlled by a large nerve called the vagus nerve. This connects to all of the vital organs in the body and controls things like digestive activity, heart rate, and breathing.
You cannot control your digestive tract or the beat or your heart but you can control your breathing. This is why the first thing to think about when you’re cooling down is your breath.
When your workout is finished, take a moment to think about how heavily you are breathing. Are your breaths deep or shallow, long or short? In order to move the body into the rest and digest state you’ll want to be taking long, deep breaths.
To achieve this start inhaling through the nose, and exhaling through the mouth. They may be shallow and short at the begging, but the more you do this, the deeper the breath will get. As a goal, try to get to a point where inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 6-8 seconds. You’ll notice as you do this that your heart rate will slow down as well. You may even start to get hungry. These are both good signs that your body is moving into the rest and digest state.
Watch the video below from Wellington Trainer, Catherine Marion, for a step-by-step guide on how to achieve diaphragmatic/belly breathing.
Check Your Heart Rate
As we mentioned previously – when you are in the rest and digest state everything slows down. Your heart rate is an excellent indicator of this. For this, you’ll need to take your heart rate at 3 moments:
- As soon as you wake up in the morning. This is your resting heart rate.
- At the end of your workout. This is your active heart rate.
- After a few minutes of cool down. This is your recovery heart rate.
Your resting heart rate will always be the goal. After your workout, you’ll want to get your recovery heart rate as close to your resting heart rate as possible. Again – we live in a fast-paced world, so your recovery heart rate may not get all the way down to your resting heart rate. That’s why we recommend you try to get close to it.
Take your heart rate at the end of your workout so you know how far from your resting heart rate you are, and how much of a cool-down you’ll need. Trained athletes have responsive heart rates and so the amount of time they need to bring their heart rate down again will be much shorter, than someone who is not an athlete or has a history of cardiovascular disease.
The quickest way to start lowering the heart rate – breathe.
Related Article: Is Your Cardio Health Improving?
*Side note: Keep track of your resting heart rate over time, as well as the time it takes to go from active to recovery heart rate. The lower your resting heart rate gets, and the less time it takes to recover, the more fit you are becoming.
Keep Moving
The final tip for a good cool-down may seem counterintuitive. When your workout is finished, you’ll want to keep moving. Going from that high-energy state to a full stop is a lot for the body to deal with. Your heart rate is still high and therefore you’re still pumping a lot of blood throughout the body to muscles that are no longer needing it at such a high volume.
While you’re taking your deep breaths and getting your heart rate down, walk around or move through a few dynamic stretches.
If you do decide to take the dynamic stretching route, make sure you start from the head and move your way down the body. While your blood is still pumping at high volumes, going into a downward dog, or any type of stretch where your head is below your heart will cause a rush of blood to the head. This is not good and could result in dizziness or fainting.
Your cool-down activity should be much slower than your workout pace. Remember, the goal is to shift into the rest and digest state.
The next time you have a personal training session think about leaving some time for cool-down. Remember that your breath is your best tool to access the vagus nerve and to start shifting into the parasympathetic/rest and digest state. Monitor your heart rate and get it as close to your resting heart rate as you can. And finally, keep moving. This will ease the body into the rest and digest state and will begin the process of muscle recovery.
Author: Riley Pearce
riley.pearce.fff@gmail.com
Director of Social Media and Marketing
