Post Exercise Care

If you are taking part in an organized activity or class at your local gym, the instructor will automatically include a ‘down time’, when exercise becomes slower and more gentle, eventually leading to a standstill. It is important that if you are exercising alone, you never just stop. Allow your body to gradually come to a rest. Cooling down after exercising or working out allows your heart and breathing rates to get back to normal and this should be done gradually. It also allows the body to get rid of any waste products such as lactic acid that have built up in the muscles during activity. Not cooling down properly can have the effect of allowing your blood pressure to drop too fast, making you feel dizzy. Fainting can also occur without adequate cool-down, blood pools in the larger muscle groups leaving other parts of the body without a good supply. You can ensure an appropriate down time by slowing your activity without completely stopping, and continue this reduced pace for five to ten minutes. Continue to slow gradually, every two minutes, until you feel your heart rate has slowed to near normal

What You Should Do:

If you have just gone through a cardio workout, or a toning workout, this is what you should do to keep your pressure normal and your adrenalin level normal.

1. Just as your body needs to prepare for exercise like a warm up, it needs to come down after a hard workout too. Treat your cool down after exercise just as important as your warm up.
2. The best way to slow down is to move your arms and legs , slow your exercise intensity, to let the blood from pooling in the lower parts of your body and allowing the blood flow to get back to your heart.
3. Do a 3 to 5-minute cool down after exercise like an easy jogging or a slow walk or a lower intensity version of the marching in one place warm up exercise. It cool one down and gets the heart rate return to its normal level.
4. Take your heart rate every every minute or so. When you find it getting 120 minutes per beat per minute, you can stop exercising. If you are in good shape, the faster it will take place.
5. The main consideration is quantity and quality. Eat the amount of calories that is just sufficient for you, and make sure that healthy, mostly unprocessed foods are the bulk of that calorie count. Include a balance of protein, carbs and some fat.

Post Exercise Care – Benefits Of Cooling Down Exercises