How important is a cool-down, really?

anemoneprose

after a cardio w/o (eg 20-25 mins hiit).

I feel like 5 mins is really too long; 3 feels reasonable.

amybg1

A proper warmup AND cooldown are extremely important as it helps prevent injuries for one. Otehr reasons why a cooldwn are important is to bring your heart rate and body temp back down to normal, help keep or improve your flexibility/limberness and decrease soreness

anemoneprose

A proper warmup AND cooldown are extremely important as it helps prevent injuries for one. Otehr reasons why a cooldwn are important is to bring your heart rate and body temp back down to normal, help keep or improve your flexibility/limberness and decrease soreness

Don't my heart rate & body temp go down *anyway*, though? Like on the walk to the changeroom, to the car, etc?

& *how* does it prevent injuries? I've read that static stretching, for sure, is more or less useless. I know that dynamic stretching (as happens anyway at the beginning if you're starting with bodyweight, as I do*) is ok, but don't know what specific benefit there is for the cooldown portion.

Is there some biochemical thing involved, like idk lactic acid something something? I need something specific to hang onto because those five minutes are BRUTAL boring.

Thank you, though! Not meaning to be a jerk

*ie 5 mins of just pushups, bw squats etc and then into the workout proper

amybg1

Both static and dynamic are important. Dynamic serves to warm-up the muscle (pre-workout) and static cools it down while keeping the flexibility up.

As far as cooling down to the changeroom and the car, best to do it post-workout because your body will be looking into doing other things such as re-fueling (food and drink!) as well as repairing body tissues

A cooldown stretch will help keep the work you've already done (strength and/or cardio gains) by gently stretching AND strengthening muscle/tendons/ligaments gradually in a safe manner. A cooldown also gives teh body a chance to re-distribute bloodflow to the entire body. For example say you were doing a strength workout and it's chest day, more blood/oxygen will flow to the muscles worked during that workout and the rest of the body will be put on the backburner. Cooling down properly will allow for the higher blood concentration now in your chest to move back to the rest of the body at its regular rate.

And yes, cooling down helps get rid of the lactic acid you've built up in your system. A cooldown will also help with any lightheadedness,dizziness,nausea and whatever else you may suffer from. These symptoms can be caused by blood rushing to your legs if no proper cooldown is performed after a cardio session as an example.

grimendale

Think of it this way. Let's say you're in your car driving at 45 miles per hour. You see a redlight up ahead. Would you continue at speed until you get there and slam on the breaks or slow down gradually? The latter, of course, because it prevents excessive wear and tear on the car. A gradual transition from full speed to stop lets the various parts adjust slowly and prevents damage to the car. The same is true of your body. Going from a flat out workout to nothing immediately puts additional stress on your body and can make your muscles more prone to injuries. Not to mention that your muscles are most receptive to stretching when warm, so cool down stretches give you the best results.

dakotababy

Think of it this way. Let's say you're in your car driving at 45 miles per hour. You see a redlight up ahead. Would you continue at speed until you get there and slam on the breaks or slow down gradually? The latter, of course, because it prevents excessive wear and tear on the car. A gradual transition from full speed to stop lets the various parts adjust slowly and prevents damage to the car. The same is true of your body. Going from a flat out workout to nothing immediately puts additional stress on your body and can make your muscles more prone to injuries. Not to mention that your muscles are most receptive to stretching when warm, so cool down stretches give you the best results.

You would hate how I drive.

anemoneprose

Both static and dynamic are important. Dynamic serves to warm-up the muscle (pre-workout) and static cools it down while keeping the flexibility up.

As far as cooling down to the changeroom and the car, best to do it post-workout because your body will be looking into doing other things such as re-fueling (food and drink!) as well as repairing body tissues

A cooldown stretch will help keep the work you've already done (strength and/or cardio gains) by gently stretching AND strengthening muscle/tendons/ligaments gradually in a safe manner. A cooldown also gives teh body a chance to re-distribute bloodflow to the entire body. For example say you were doing a strength workout and it's chest day, more blood/oxygen will flow to the muscles worked during that workout and the rest of the body will be put on the backburner. Cooling down properly will allow for the higher blood concentration now in your chest to move back to the rest of the body at its regular rate.

And yes, cooling down helps get rid of the lactic acid you've built up in your system. A cooldown will also help with any lightheadedness,dizziness,nausea and whatever else you may suffer from. These symptoms can be caused by blood rushing to your legs if no proper cooldown is performed after a cardio session as an example.

Thank you for taking the time to explain further, it's appreciated! The regulation of the redistribution of bloodflow, that's a nice and physical explanation I can hang on to, and will remember. And explains dizziness etc, too - thanks again! I'll make a little visualization to get me through it

anemoneprose

Think of it this way. Let's say you're in your car driving at 45 miles per hour. You see a redlight up ahead. Would you continue at speed until you get there and slam on the breaks or slow down gradually? The latter, of course, because it prevents excessive wear and tear on the car. A gradual transition from full speed to stop lets the various parts adjust slowly and prevents damage to the car. The same is true of your body. Going from a flat out workout to nothing immediately puts additional stress on your body and can make your muscles more prone to injuries. Not to mention that your muscles are most receptive to stretching when warm, so cool down stretches give you the best results.

Wear & tear works too, thank you for the analogy

edit: Until this year, I have completely omitted cooldowns, I hate them that much. So, probably, my CV system thanks you both!

peeaanuut

Think of it this way. Let's say you're in your car driving at 45 miles per hour. You see a redlight up ahead. Would you continue at speed until you get there and slam on the breaks or slow down gradually? The latter, of course, because it prevents excessive wear and tear on the car. A gradual transition from full speed to stop lets the various parts adjust slowly and prevents damage to the car. The same is true of your body. Going from a flat out workout to nothing immediately puts additional stress on your body and can make your muscles more prone to injuries. Not to mention that your muscles are most receptive to stretching when warm, so cool down stretches give you the best results.

You forgot the dbl clutch downshift, let the turbo spool up and floor it, flat foot shifting as you go through the intersection letting the BOV let out a loud pcccssshhhhh, option.

But I like the original analogy for working out.

faceoff4

Cool downs are very important. I use my cool down period to slowly get my heart rate down and them i stretch post workout. It's very important to do both as it will aid in the recovery process as well as keep your heart healthy.