Cooling down after exercise, what does it do? why is it important?

Cool down after exercise is something that is highly recommended by health experts. Because basically, the benefits of cooling down after exercise are often discussed in order to prevent the risk of injury to the muscles of the body. However, how important is it to cool down after exercising? Are there great benefits to be had?

Why do you have to cool down after exercise?

According to the Amerian Council on Exercise, cooling or stretching the body after exercising is fairly important. Why is it important? The effect not only helps prevent injury, but can also help with pain that arises afterward.

When you exercise, your muscles will feel warm due to the movement and speed when you exercise. Well, the function of this cooling is to increase the range of motion of the muscles so that they are not torn and injured in warm conditions. By regularly cooling down after exercising, you can also reduce pain in the muscles that usually appear 1 or 2 days after exercising.

1. Helps reduce muscle fatigue

When you exercise, lactic acid builds up in your muscles, not infrequently this lactic acid often causes muscle aches and fatigue. By cooling down, the muscles will make preparations for lowering the temperature to normal activities and the pain can recover more quickly.

2. Train muscle flexibility

Another benefit that you can get from cooling is to train and increase body muscle flexibility. It is important to train flexible and flexible muscles if you really like or regularly exercise every day.

This also has an effect as your body ages. As you get older, your muscles and joints will also grow stiff and inflexible. So that routines such as cooling down or doing massage after exercise are needed to reduce muscle stiffness.

3. Prevent stress body and mind

It's not only your body and muscles that benefit, your mind can also benefit from a certain amount of cooling. If you stretch your body and catch your breath well after exercising, then you are bringing your body, feelings and thoughts together.

Then, with each breath that is exhaled while cooling down, the body stretches along while overcoming the aches and pains in the body. This unity between mind and body is said to be essential for relaxation and relieving stress. In addition, the nerves in your brain and throughout your body will also feel calmer if you stretch regularly every day.

Cooling should not be done haphazardly

After you know how important it is to cool down after exercise, in fact there are still some things that must be considered. Before doing sports, you are also required to warm up, as well as stretching your body muscles after you finish exercising. These two things must be done in a balanced manner, namely before and after exercising.

Then, cooling can be done in a gentle way. Avoid doing movements that jump or move faster. Don't forget to take a deep breath to get the sensation in your body when you stretch. It is recommended to cool down just 3-5 minutes after exercising.