Know your cool down mantra
Muscles, like the brain, need adequate rest to keep them fit and healthy. Every follower of fitness meticulously adheres to the prescribed warm-up routine before exercise begins, but most of the time, these fitness buffs ignore their just-as-important muscle relaxation sessions after the workout ends.
What most of them don’t realise is that the circle is not complete without a ‘cool- down’ session. When missed, it could do more harm than good. If warm-ups are stipulated before the workout to avoid muscle injuries, cooling down post-workout is just as important for the muscles to relax. And yet many tend to ignore this aspect after the tiring sessions, dismissing it as unnecessary.
Prashant Sawant, the man behind Shah Rukh Khan’s six-pack abs, stresses on the importance of cool-down sessions. He trains busy celebrities who barely have time to breathe, let alone relax. And yet Prashant is firm. “I make sure that all my clients incorporate these cool-down sessions in their regimen,” he says.
“A proper cool-down is based on the concept of recovery and is designed to limit muscle damage due to exercise,” he adds. “It not only prevents dizziness, rapid changes in blood pressure and cramps, but also saves the person exercising from muscle sore,” he adds.
Adds Prashant, “Five to 10 minutes dedicated to cooling down the body and the muscles, includes mild jogging, stretching and a few minutes of meditation to calm the mind, are an integral part of any kind of exercise.”
People who avoid these sessions are at higher risk of facing the onset of Post Exercise Muscle Soreness, also known as Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Very different from regular muscle pains, it is caused by the tearing of muscle fibre. The degree of soreness depends on the amount of strain placed on the muscles.
Relaxation takes care of the back, too. “People tend to forget about relaxing their back after exercise. If stretches are avoided, backaches could cause trouble. There is no supplement or short-cut for cool-down sessions. One has to set aside time to treat the muscles to some relaxation after a hectic work-out,” concludes Prashant.
Remember, exercises are meant to keep us fit. A few minutes of cooling down, besides benefiting the muscles, gives one the time to think over one’s recent session and feel good about it. It must be noted that cool-down sessions are a must after any sort of physical activity —- yoga, gym workouts or athletics.
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