Day 12: Cool Down Practice
Ok, last week we learned about the importance of a warm-up routine. Today, we are going to talk about the cool down routine. These routines are an important part of cardio- they are what make us able to do it more consistently, with fewer problems.
Our cool down routine is going to look similar to our warm-up routine but will be slower and less rigorous.
As we learned, the warm up routine is about slowly increasing our heart rate, slowing increasing our bodies movement, so we don’t give a shock to your system by going from 0 to 60 too quickly. This is what will help prevent the body from experiencing too much stress at once and will ultimately help reduce the exercise induced flare-ups. The warm up routine is essential for getting the muscles ready for more demanding movement, which prevents injury.
The cool down routine has the opposite purpose. We need to start to slow the heart rate back down, to release the muscles that became tight during the cardio exercise and begin to transition back into our normal, non-cardio body. The cool down is less essential than the warm-up when it comes to injury prevention, but it is an important part of reducing the possibility of negative after-effects of cardio, like body soreness, exhaustion and flare.
A healthy cooldown routine has three parts:
Foam Rolling
Static Stretching
Relaxing cool down poses
Today, we are going to cover each of these three areas, depending on where you are in the process. As you practice this today, it won’t be a cool down because we haven’t done cardio yet- but I want you to understand the concepts and practice these habits and routines, before we pull everything together with actual cardio.
Beginner:
Practice your foam rolling by watching the foam rolling video here.
Intermediate:
Practice foam rolling lower body
Next, stretch out using the basics from the static stretching video
Relax with these final poses (you can use the modifications if you prefer them)
Forward fold
Shoulder opener
Cat cow
Child's pose
Advanced:
Add in your favorite static stretches: I recommend reviewing the basics from Level 1
Relax with these final poses:
Forward fold
Shoulder opener
Cat cow
Child's pose
Continue to:
Post on Facebook or share with Andrea: What do you think about the warm-ups and cool-downs?