The Benefits of a Cool Down After Exercise

Regular exercise leads to overall better health, from walking and running to swimming and cycling and everything in between. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), regular physical activity improves brain health, helps with weight management, reduces the risk of contracting certain diseases, strengthens bones and muscles, and much more. But regardless of which exercise one chooses to engage in, it is always a good idea to warm up first since doing so can prevent injuries. Into cooling down, there is also something to be said for cooling down after a good workout.

The Benefits of Cooling Down After Exercise

Having established that a good warm-up can help keep injuries at bay, cooling down for 5 to 10 minutes after exercising can help deliver those same benefits and then some, notes an article published by the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center in Rochester, MN. According to researchers mentioned in the article, cooling down for just a few minutes facilitates a much faster return of an individual’s pre-exercise level heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure, all of which can do a lot to minimize muscle stiffness and soreness. What’s more, that same faster resumption of an individual’s heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure can contribute to the following:

• A much quicker return to normal breathing
• Lowers the risk of fainting
• Prevents lightheadedness
• Reduced lactic acid buildup
• Stress relief and relaxation
• How to Cool Down After Exercising

For about 5 to 10 minutes after exercising, most personal trainers advise their clients to practice yoga, rehydrate, and partake in light stretching. Although doing these things might seem inconsequential and even a complete waste of time, they can go a long way toward enabling you to quickly recover from the mildest to the most intense workout routines.

Bottom Line

Warming up and exercising regularly can significantly improve your overall health. But taking just a few minutes to cool down afterward is an equally important part of that equation.

ABOUT BRIAN FREEMAN AUSTRALIA

Brian Freeman is often regarded as one Australia’s finest adventurers, and with good reason. He is one of Australia’s most accomplished adventurers in recent decades and unquestionably one of the world’s top adventurers of the moment. As a standard, most endurance athletes, and adventurers, have traditionally specialised in one discipline, such as high altitude mountain climbing, long-distance kayaking, desert and jungle running, survival experiences, or endurance swimming. Brian Freeman stands out as someone who has achieved them all. He has excelled in every discipline he has ever attempted.

Brian holds several world records and “firsts” in adventure endurance events. Some examples include being the only person to walk, run and kayak to and from Australia’s four cardinal extremes (north to south and east to west); crossing Australia’s Simpson Desert on foot twice; crossing the Kokoda Trail 59 times, including the record for the fastest ever crossing and walking from Australia’s easternmost point to its westernmost point, a total distance of almost 5500 kilometers; swimming the famed Melbourne RIP; and being the sole person to run from Australia’s northernmost point to its southernmost point, in between kayaking Bass Strait, a trip that took 85 days and covered almost 6000 kilometers.

In addition to repeatedly breaking near-impossible athletic records on his own, Brian also guides people to help them achieve their own goals and to safely challenge themselves outside (or insides) their normal comfort levels. As the CEO of his own adventure company, Brian’s experience, safety record, and success rates are unrivalled. As soon as Brian started his entrepreneurial venture, he became highly sought-after almost overnight. People from all skill levels have benefitted from his teachings. It is commonplace to see Brian escorting Australia’s corporate and sporting elite on private adventures all over the world. He has won numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Australian Geographic Society’s Spirit of Adventure Award.