Cooldown: This is how you warm up properly

A cool down after exercise relaxes your body. This is very important for your muscles and your cardiovascular system. This is how you warm yourself up properly.

With a cooldown you regenerate your body after sport and prevent injuries. Plus you get after one Cool down less sore muscles.

The cardiovascular system is permanently active when exercising, the pulse rate and breathing rate, for example, are increased. After exercising, it is important to slowly normalize this system. If you stop exertion too abruptly, your blood pressure may drop. That leads to dizziness, Headache or fainting. You can prevent this with a targeted cooldown. There are two phases to properly cooling off after exercising.

Cooldown: Phase 1

Reducing the load is the goal of the first phase of the cooldown. The body should slowly recover. The intensity of exercise is reduced bit by bit and the circulation is stabilized.

As with warming up, do light exercises as you warm up:

• Running out: After jogging, you should run out for ten minutes and slow down. You can do the same when you are out on your bike.
• Cardio: You can use a cardio machine to cool off in the gym.
• Swimming: You can swim two to three laps slowly and breathe calmly and purposefully.
• If you’re doing another sport, you can also do warm-up exercises to cool off. These exercises are usually easy to coordinate and not very strenuous.

Cooldown: Phase 2

Cooling off properly also means regenerating and relaxing the muscles. This happens during the second phase of the cooldown.

There are several ways to do this:

• Showering: A warm shower relaxes your muscles and dilates the blood vessels. As a result, the individual muscle strands are better supplied with blood and regenerated. But also cold shower is suitable for cooldown. This causes the vessels to contract and small inflammations are inhibited. It is best if you take a shower alternating between warm and cold water every 20 to 30 seconds.
• Fascia rolls: They loosen up the muscles and promote the breakdown of metabolic end products. There are also many Fascia roller exercises for the home.
• Stretching: With stretching you promote blood circulation and can reduce tension. It is especially important after endurance sports to stretch the legs.
• Massage: After jogging or cycling, for example, the walls are particularly stressed. You can loosen up and massage this part of the body with your hands. This will prevent tension and sore muscles the next day.
• Breathing exercises: The body relaxes through targeted breathing. This lowers the heart rate and levels the blood pressure. Breathe in and out deeply over and over again during the cooldown. This will provide your muscles with enough oxygen.

Cooldown tips

• It is also very important that you drink a lot after exercise. This is why you should take a drink break after the exercise session and between the cooldown phases.
• There are many different videos for a cooldown on YouTube. You can easily find suggestions for the second phase there.
• Put on a track jacket or keep it handy. When your cardiovascular system normalizes, you can quickly get cold in sweaty sportswear.

Read more on utopia.de:

• Stretching Hip Flexors: 3 Healthy Exercises
• Fascia massage: you should pay attention to this
• Morning exercise: 8 reasons for a morning workout