Camera Phones Plaza

The term cool down is used to describe exercises that will make you relax. While cooling down , you  can stretch, you can walk. Physical exercises are very good for our health. Cramps and stiffness is caused by lactic acid but by cooling down you can get rid of these. Cool down exercises involve exercises that decrease in intensity. For example you run hard and then you slow down a little bit and then you walk. Ten minutes are enough for these type of exercises .

After you finish the exercises you should let your heart and breathing to reach the normal level. Indoor exercises are also good , try to put on an extra piece of clothing and drink many liquids .

Here are some easy exercises for you to relax:

-         Calf Raise Down- you have to stand on your feet fingers  on something raised, such as a stair, and hold to something. Take a breath and put down your heels. You can do this with one foot or with two.

-         Lying Straight, Leg to Chest -  Sit on your back, your head and bottom must be on the floor. Raise afoot and hold it with your hands. The idea is to pull your leg to your chest and keep it straight. To make this exercise easier, you can take a towel and put it around your leg.

-         Stretch Lying – Sit on your side and keep your knees together. Raise a leg and keep it straight . Try to touch your bottom with the leg .

When you end your run try to walk to prevent the locking of your muscles. If it’s cold outside, wear warm clothes when you are exercising. If you have an injury, a stretching exercise will help you .

Many people consider that the cool down is not important. I have news for you- it’s more important than you think. Warm up and cool down are very important for different reasons. While when you warm up you actually prepare your body for exercise, when you cool down the body return to the initial state before the exercise .

When you exercise your body goes through some stressful changes. Tendons, muscle fibres and ligaments are affected. The cool down exercises will help your body recover. The good news is that cool down exercises will make the soreness to go away. I’m sure you all have experienced the soreness in your muscles, the next day you had exercise. This is called ,,post exercise muscle soreness’’.

This soreness is caused by many things but the main cause are the micro tears that appear in the muscles fibres so the muscle tissue gets swollen and pressures the nerve endings that makes us feel pain. The heart is pumping blood to the muscles. The blood has nutrients and oxygen that are necessary for the muscle to work are used. The blood is pushed back to the heart by the force of the muscle. There it is oxygenated again. The force that pushes the blood back to the heart, stops when the exercises are interrupted. Pain and swelling are caused by the lactic acid and waste products. This process is called ,,blood pooling .’’

The cool down exercises keeps the blood circulating , removes waste products and prevents blood pooling. Muscles, ligaments and tendons need the nutrients and oxygen that blood brings with it .

Now that we know why are cool down exercises so important let’s see what are the 3 key elements that make cool down exercises complete:

-         gentle exercise

-         stretching

-         re-fuel

These elements are all important and they aren’t effective if you use just one of them. Their aim is to replenish and repair the body after you exercise .

Here are two examples of effective cool down exercises. One example is for a professional athlete and the second is for a regular person  that exercises for his/her health, fun or fitness .

The professional exercise requires to exercise easy for 10 or 15 minutes. The exercises must be similar to the ones that you already performed. For example  if you were  running you should cool down with a walk . To oxygenate your system , take deep breathes. Stretch for 20 or 30 minutes. You can use PNF stretching or static stretching. Drink water and eat an easy meal or fruits .



The amateur exercise requires to exercise easy for 3 or 5 minutes. In this case also the exercises must resemble the ones you did before. As part of your exercise try to include deep breathing. The same stretching as in the professional exercise but just for 5 or 10 minutes .

If you are  serious with your cool down exercises and you will recover quickly from your exercises. Stretching improves not only athletic performance but the amateur performance, too. Don’t think that because it is a simple exercise is not important. It is very effective in improving your flexibility .

Cool down is in fact the conclusion of physical exercises. It will prepare the body to stop the exercise, prevents soreness and return the body to its condition. Cool down exercises should follow immediately the exercise while the muscles are still warm. You can make your cool down exercises more pleasant by playing music and perform them in relaxed and comfortable positions. Cool down exercises can be fun !