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The Importance of Warming Up and
Cooling Down
The body,
just as any machine, needs to get ready for use. Before you race a car,
you rev the engine so it is warmed up enough to be able to perform at
its best. In the same manner, our body too, needs warming up before any
major physical exertion, be it physical work around the house/office,
athletic events or a heavy workout.
What Is
Warming Up
Muscles in
their normal state, are a little stiff and the more sedentary the
lifestyle the stiffer they become. In this condition, if the body is
pushed into sudden heavy duty exercises or exertion, the muscles tear,
resulting in very painful injuries. To prevent this from happening, the
muscles need to be warmed up before any major exercise. Warming up
sessions need not be too prolonged, just about 10-20 minutes is fine.
Some of the
recommended exercises for warming up are:
-
Brisk walking, jogging,
on-the-spot jogging (5-10 minute duration)
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Body stretching
exercises, the normal limb and body stretching routine; dynamic body
exercises are better than static for warming up (5-10 minute
duration)
-
Special focus exercises
for special athletic exercise, these are exercises which concentrate
on the particular area of the body which will be used the most in
the following workout
There are
numerous benefits from just 15 minutes of warming up exercises. Some of
the most mentionable are:
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Reduction of muscle
stiffness
-
Better flexibility of the
muscles resulting in better contraction and relaxation movement
-
Better oxygen absorption
by the muscles
-
Higher temperature in the
muscles promotes higher blood circulation
-
Increases heart rate,
which supports heavier exercises
-
Increases metabolism
facilitating energy production required for the real exercise that
follows the warm up
-
Better movement during
exercise since the stiffness of the muscles has been eliminated
Looking at
the above, you realize that you cannot indeed do without warming up if
you mean to complete a serious workout. The opposite of warming up, i.e.
cooling down is just as important for the body.
What Is
Cooling Down
Cooling
down is bringing the body back to its relaxed state gradually, from a
super active state. Tapering down the muscle movement before completely
stopping the heavy work out helps the body to cope better with the
changes that take place in the metabolism and muscles used during the
workout.
Some of the
recommended exercises for cooling down are:
-
Brisk walking, on the
spot running, jogging (5-20 minute duration) this will help slow
down the muscles and reduce the temperature in the body and muscle
tissue. It also helps eliminate waste products resulting from the
workout.
-
Static stretching
exercises, as opposed to the dynamic stretching exercises, the
static ones help in slowing and cooling down the body to the
stationary level (5-10 minute duration)
Just as the
warming exercises help the body plunge into heavy exercises, the cooling
down ones help it return to its normal state. Some of the important
benefits accruing from cooling down exercises are:
-
The most important
benefit is that it reduces the adrenaline (the ‘action’ hormone) in
the body
-
A good cooling down
exercise set would prevent sudden fainting that could result from
the accumulation of blood in the extremities of the body (away from
the brain) that happens when sudden exertion is stopped
-
It facilitates removal of
waste products from the muscles which prevents muscle spasms and
cramps
-
Tapers the heart beat to
the standard rate in a systematic manner preventing hyperventilation
As you see
from above, it is very important for the body to have a gradual starting
up before the actual heavy workout and gradual stopping after the
workout is over. If the warming up/cooling down process is ignored, the
body and the muscles will suffer a lot of damage both in the short run
and long run.
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