Importance of Cooling Down

Most people are aware of the importance of warming up prior to exercising. However, many are not aware that it is equally imporant to cool down after working out.

Cool-downs are important as an adaptation made during the body's recovery process to return to its normal state after exercising. Among benefits of cooling down are to aid the dissipation of waste products from the muscles, including lactic acid ( produced when carbohydrate sources in your body is broken down for energy, in the absence of oxygen.). This is because the muscles that help to pump blood back to the heart are no longer active post-work out and thus maybe in insufficient to move blood out of the muscle. Thus, mild rhythmic-type muscular activity (easy jog, brisk walk) will help in the recovery phase.

Cooling down also allows the heart rate to return to its resting rate. During aerobic exercise, peripheral veins, particularly within muscle dilate to accommodate the increased blood flow through exercising muscle. Cooling down would allow a more gradual return to venous tone, and allows a gradual decline in heart rate that reduces stress on the organ that would otherwise have to beat faster and harder to adequately oxygenate the body and maintain blood pressure.

Cool-downs are also said to reduce potential for * 'delayed onset muscle soreness' - DOMS (yes that "omgwtf why my muscle so sore 2 days after intense exercise" soreness). Contrary to common belief, lactic acid does not seem to be the cause of DOMS. The precise cause of DOMS is not known. Some research claims that DOMS is not caused by the pain from damaged muscle cells, but from the muscle's reinforcement process (muscle's response to training by reinforcing itself up to and above its previous strength. This causes the cells to swell in their 'compartment' and put pressure on nerves and arteries, producing pain. Warm ups and cool downs are among suggested ways to reduce DOMS, but it is also important to note that the act of overstretching the muscle itself can cause DOMS.

Other benefits of cooling down include reducing the chances of dizziness or fainting caused by the pooling of venous blood at the extremities, as well as reducing the level of adrenaline in the blood.

Previously, I felt intense muscle soreness and stiffness 1-2 days after training and frequently whined to QJ bout it. And he'd nag me to do cool down after my training...which...I kinda brush aside, not knowing the reason why it's important :P Well, we actually did cool down last Thursday after training...and till today, the expected intense muscle soreness is still not there. Hee! (yeah and he went like "I told you so!" :P )...so I guess it holds some truth why you should perform cooling down, especially after an intense round of exercise.


Note: *I'm not sure if my facts are right...because one site says one thing and other site says another...and there's no telling who's right (cuz even Wiki cant fully be trusted these days...)