Is the Exercise Cool-Down Really Necessary?
Full article here:
www.nytimes.com/.../15best.html
Excerpt:
The idea of the cool-down seems to have originated with a popular theory — now known to be wrong — that muscles become sore after exercise because they accumulate lactic acid. In fact, lactic acid is a fuel. It’s good to generate lactic acid, it’s a normal part of exercise, and it has nothing to do with muscle soreness. But the lactic acid theory led to the notion that by slowly reducing the intensity of your workout you can give lactic acid a chance to dissipate...
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Former Member
So, how much of a cooldown does one need for safety? Will an easy 50 suffice? 200? 10 minutes?
Does anyone know, could drill work count as cool down? Seems like it should, yes?
This is my understanding, but the information has not recently entered my head, so it is worth double checking.
During intense workout, your muscles aide your heart in pumping blood. Your cool down can be anything that continues the same motion at a slower pace while the heart rate decreases to "normal", where it can handle the volume of blood being pumped on its own.
Normal would be your heart rate during ez swimming. For runners it would be the heart rate during a walk. How long is a function of individual recovery rate and current heart elevation, so time isn't a good indicator, but heart rate should be.
So drills at an easy pace that allowed your heart rate to drop would be a good cool down. There are several drills that don't fit into this (like spin drill) that elevate the heart rate which wouldn't help.
So, how much of a cooldown does one need for safety? Will an easy 50 suffice? 200? 10 minutes?
Does anyone know, could drill work count as cool down? Seems like it should, yes?
This is my understanding, but the information has not recently entered my head, so it is worth double checking.
During intense workout, your muscles aide your heart in pumping blood. Your cool down can be anything that continues the same motion at a slower pace while the heart rate decreases to "normal", where it can handle the volume of blood being pumped on its own.
Normal would be your heart rate during ez swimming. For runners it would be the heart rate during a walk. How long is a function of individual recovery rate and current heart elevation, so time isn't a good indicator, but heart rate should be.
So drills at an easy pace that allowed your heart rate to drop would be a good cool down. There are several drills that don't fit into this (like spin drill) that elevate the heart rate which wouldn't help.
