![]() |
5 Little Known Benefits of Warming Up & Cooling Down After Exercising
While working out in the gym, I have noticed that many exerciserstend to skip two very important parts of their workout. It iscrucial that exercisers starts with a warm-up and ends with acool-down. As a fitness educator, I educate my clients of whythey should include warm-ups and cool-downs in their workouts. Warm up before vigorous exercise is crucial. Warm-up preparesthe heart muscle and circulatory system. When you start physicalactivity, blood flow is not immediately available to the heartand muscles. A proper warm-up decreases the risk of irregularheartbeats associated with poor coronary circulation. A properwarm-up also improve performance, since it minimizes thepremature formation of lactic acid at the start of physicalactivity. In addition, warming up raises the temperature of thebody. For each degree of temperature elevation, the metabolicrate of the cells increases by about 13 percent. Another reason is warming up helps prevents injuries. Muscleelasticity and the flexibility of the tendons and ligaments areincreased. Synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints, isreleased during easy activity. In general, warm up prepares thebody for the increased demand of intense exercise. Warm-ups activities are movement activities. Stretching is not awarm-up exercise because it does not raise the body temperature. In fact, an exerciser can tear cold muscles by stretching them. General warm-up involves calisthenics, stretching, and generalbody movements such as slow jog followed by a light streth.Warmup for about 5-10 minutes depending on the person's fitness levelfollowed by some light stretching. Specific warm-up, on the other hand, provides a skill rehearsalfor the actual activity. Swinging a golf club, throwing abaseball or football are examples of specific warm-up. I have been working out in a health club setting for almost 10years. In my experience, I hardly seen anyone do a cool-downactivity. Cool down is also as important as a warm-up. After aheavy work-out, it is important to spend 5-10 minutes in a cooldown stage. A cool down after the workout is important topromote an effective recovery from physical activity. Some ofthe benefits of a cool down are listed below: 1. The opposite of a warm-up. Respiration, body temperature,andheart rate are gradually returned to normal, preventing anirregular beat the may be life threatening. 2. During the cool-down stage, the legs help return the blood toyour heart. Muscle in the legs acts as a pump to bring bloodback to the heart. Suddenly stopping cardiovascular activitycauses blood to pool in the legs instead of circulating to thebrain. Not enough supply of blood in the brain can causedizziness or light-headedness. 4. Cool-down can help increase a person's flexibility. 5. Active cool-down also speeds lactate removal from the blood. There are two parts of a cool-down. First, a person does a lightcardiovascular activity such as walking to lower the heart rate,body temperature, etc. Then, static stretching should befollowed. Exercisers should stretch all the major muscle groupsfor at least 10-30 seconds. The stretch should feel a slightdiscomfort but not feel pain. Stretching at the end of thecool-down can help increase flexibility without causing injury. Add a warm-up and cool-down to your current exercise regimen andsee the difference. The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any health care program. Emily Clark is editor at Lifestyle Health News and Medical Health News where you can find the most up-to-date advice and information on many medical, health and lifestyle topics.
MORE RESOURCES: |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
RELATED ARTICLES
The Two Greatest Myths About Abdominal Exercises If you have ever read a fitness magazine.. How To Gain An Avalanche Of Energy! For many people out there trying to become more energised and active they are terrified of committing to daily activity. It is so engrained in their minds that they might over train that they literally shy away from daily physical training and instead follow the herd and train two or three times per week. Exercise and the Time Clock I have to admit that I sometimes find it amusing when someone knows I am a trainer and proceeds to elaborate on the hours that they spend in the gym. One example was a few years back when I was introduced to a nice young women, who proceeded to tell me that she went to the gym twice a day, an hour each time. Exercise Motivation: 7 Sure-fire Tips So you've begun an exercise program to get in shape and loose weight. Congratulations! You've taken a big step towards making big improvements in your life. Exercising In Heat Summer is officially here. Finally you can pack away your jackets and get outside. Some Great Ideas on Staying Fit Physical exercise is something that you need to do on a regular basis. If you're looking for examples of great fitness exercises to try out, you'll find them on our site. A 30-minute, Or Less, Full Body Workout Most people do not have the time to do biceps and back one day, then legs and shoulders the next, then triceps and abdominals the next day. So here is a short, and every effective full body weight session you can easily get done in 30 minutes or less. Exercise and Heart Health: A Life Giving Marriage Most people get their health out of a bottle these days, be it a bottle of vitamins or pharmaceuticals. However, with a little effort and dedication you really can get a hold on your life, turn it round and live it to the full!If you've been diagnosed with heart disease or are at risk of developing heart disease regular exercise is essential for the health of your heart, body and mind. Top 3 Back Pain Risk Factors Lower back pain is an increasingly common problem in fact four out of five Americans will experience lower back pain at least once in their lifetime.Properly training the lower back involves selecting the right exercises to work this area and using good technique to make sure that you are getting the most out of the movement. How to Get The Most From Your Home Workouts A recent study found that home workouts may do even more good than workouts at a gym. This is good news for people who are time crunched and find it's too much trouble to make it to a health club. Unstable And Proud Of It! Power to the Push-Ups! When I get finished teaching you this never-before-seen version of the push-up, you're going to think that either I'm crazy or a genius or both! Of course, the results you'll get from it will speak for themselves.First, we need to set the stage for this version of the push-up. Reviewing Weider Home Gyms For most of us non-professional body builders the Weider Home Gyms can be a great addition to our exercising needs. Driving times, busy and active schedules makes this product a must have tool in the convenience of your own home. How Exercise and Beta-Glucan Help the Immune System It is thought that moderate exercise, such as speed walking, jogging, and aerobics may enhance your body's natural resistance to infection. This is due to that fact that this kind of physical activity activates the release of immunostimulatory factors, such as growth hormones, cytokines, and prolactin, which in turn activates various populations of immune cells. Warming Up Properly In our 'Stretching' article series (http://optimumlife.co. A Great Way To Spice Up Your Workouts -- Interval Training There's been a lot of buzz recently about Interval Training. So, you may be wondering what it really is and, more importantly, why you should incorporate it in your fitness workouts. Finding The Right Exercise Intensity We've all heard the exercise guidelines that recommend we participate in 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity 3-5 times per week. That seems easy enough to implement. The New Discovery That Makes It Possible To Get An Effective Workout In Less Time The Art of Multifunctional TrainingPeople often complain about how they just do not have enough time to spend working out in a gym. It seems every year the lives of many Americans become more hectic and they have less time to devote to bettering their health. Sets And Reps - The High And Low Weight Workout Big weights! Wicked pump! I always get caught between two minds whenever I hit my workout at the gym. One side of me says to lift heavy to get big and the other says that form should matter more than my weight poundage. Tour of Diet - Cycling for Your Health The last seven years, or so, at the Tour de France has shown a success story that is very uncommon. Winning seven Tour de France championships is a feat that will be extremely hard to duplicate. Get Fit From Home! --------------------Things Around The House--------------------Don't feel that just because you don't have any weights at home, that you can't get a GREAT workout! Try using these items for the corresponding exercises. Change them around to increase or decrease the resistance to make it the perfect workout for YOU!· Backpack Swing- Take a backpack and fill it with books. ![]() |