Cool downs at the best of times can be annoying to do. You have just done a tough workout and all you want to do is sit down and rest. This is especially true swimming/ training in winter where you are wet and cold and all you want to do is have a warm shower. So do we actually need to do a cool down?

Proposed benefits of cool downs

Benefits of cooling down

- Reduce Heart & breathing rates

- Gradually reduce body temperature

- Return muscles to an optimal length-tension relationship

- Prevent venous pooling of blood in lower extremities

- Restore physiological system close to baseline

- Promote faster muscle recovery

- Why is it important to cool down after exercise

So what happens in our body if we don't cool down

If you suddenly stop exercising after a workout without an adequate cool down, your body still believes that it is in a 'stressed state' where it needs to continue pumping blood around the body, this can continue occurring for 1-7 minutes. (Scientific American) This can lead to blood pooling in the lower extremities of the body. This can then lead to dizzyness or lightheadedness or even fainting in some circumstances. (Tri-City Medical Center)

What do the academics say:

An active cool down (low to moderate intensity exercise or movement performed within 1hr after a workout) leads to a faster recovery of the cardiovascular system after exercise, furthermore it also helps to stabilise our core temperature which results in decreased sweating post exercise (, further an active recovery also helps to relax the body as well as time to reflect on the workout. Stretching may not necessarily help to reduce muscle soreness instead it helps to increase range of motion.

In the table below it shows the effects of cool down and shows the amount of academic articles which found it to be beneficial (green) no difference (blue) harmful (red)

Van Hooren, B., Peake, J.M. Do We Need a Cool-Down After Exercise? A Narrative Review of the Psychophysiological Effects and the Effects on Performance, Injuries and the Long-Term Adaptive Response. Sports Med48, 1575–1595 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0916-2

In summary

Cool downs can be beneficial for helping to clear the blood lactate out of your body as well as helping to bring your breathing back to a normal pattern. But overall if you have to choose between a warm up and a cool down I would recommend a warm up every time.

Thanks everyone for reading, if you have any questions feel free to get in contact we will be happy to help out:

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