My coach today told me that cooling down at the end of practice was not good for the body. He said it could rip muscles that were just worked. I have always been taught that the cool down was important, especially after working hard and getting the heart rate up.
Keep in mind that this is an USA-S practice and those I'm swimming with are teenagers.
I'm curious what others think?
My thoughts exactly. What if one were to swim a race pace 50 Free from the blocks at the end of practice instead of an EZ 200? Wouldn't the race pace swim be more likely to damage muscle than an EZ swim?
That's what I was thinking as well. Today's last set was 3x200 (one kick, one kick/swim, one swim) descend with fins. Then 3x100, same way and then 3x50 same way. So we finished with a very high heart rate. One kid asked if they should do a cool down and Marc said he wasn't giving one and I replied that it was one of the most important things in a practice. That's when the conversation started. No way was I getting out with my heart rate way up and lactic acid in me. I also finish up each practice with a protein drink to help even more.
My thoughts exactly. What if one were to swim a race pace 50 Free from the blocks at the end of practice instead of an EZ 200? Wouldn't the race pace swim be more likely to damage muscle than an EZ swim?
That's what I was thinking as well. Today's last set was 3x200 (one kick, one kick/swim, one swim) descend with fins. Then 3x100, same way and then 3x50 same way. So we finished with a very high heart rate. One kid asked if they should do a cool down and Marc said he wasn't giving one and I replied that it was one of the most important things in a practice. That's when the conversation started. No way was I getting out with my heart rate way up and lactic acid in me. I also finish up each practice with a protein drink to help even more.
