COOL-DOWN AS A RECOVERY STRATEGY


By Sebastian Rebollo

Master in physical Activity

Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist







Training is a complex process and every session that we do affects our next session positively or negatively. Because of this fact, we need to start seeing the cool down phase of our training day as one of the most important phases to start a proper recovery and prepare the body for the next training day.


The goal of an effective cool down is to progressively slow down the heart rate, body temperature, blood flow, breathing rate and nervous system activity to baseline levels. We’re trying to help the muscles return to the original muscle length after a hard resistance training or exhaustive competition and remove waste product such as lactic acid.


Some of the most recommended activities to achieve these goals are a slow jog, breathing exercises or a passive stretching session for 10 to 20 minutes with a full body cool down routine.


Lets see some physiological responses during a cool-down phase to have a better understanding about this topic







Basic routine for the cool down phase of our training session.


1.-  5 minutes of slow jog with joint mobility

2.- stretching routine 15 to 20 seconds on each position (+/- 10 min)








3.- Massage with ice or cold massage roller ball around all the muscles to help the anti-inflamatory process for 5 minutes






After doing all of this, nutrition is the next important thing to focus on in order to improve the recovery process and be ready for a good workout the following day. 



Disclaimer: No training program can or will protect you from injury. All athletic sports carry with them an element of danger. In the case of a fall, collision or other accident, you may be injured or killed, regardless of the type of athletic training you may have participated in. A training program itself could even result in an injury in certain situations. The only way to certainly avoid being injured while training or participating in a sporting activity, is to not participate in any sports or training activity.