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...
Parents
Former Member
Here's a good presentation on lactate clearance and recovery swimming by Genadijus Sokolovas, former Director of Physiology for USA Swimming.
The conclusions:
Swimming at high velocity yields high amounts of lactate in the muscles. This has negative effects on the ability of the muscles to contract. In order for a swimmer to perform at maximal effort again, lactate must be removed
Active recovery (swimming warm-down) is helpful for lactate removal. During passive recovery (i.e. sitting on the bench) lactate removal is very slow
Duration of post-race recovery should be 25-30 min for sprinters, 20-25 min for middle distance swimmers, and 15-20 min for distance swimmers
Swimming intensity during warm-down should be light for sprinters (about 50-55% of maximum 100 m swimming velocity), light to moderate for middle distance swimmers (55-60% of maximum 100 m swimming velocity), and moderate for distance swimmers (60-65% of maximum 100 m swimming velocity)
The post-race recovery protocol should include straight swimming. Warm-down can be substituted with stretching if there is no warm-down pool available. Heart rate during stretching should be low (120-140 beats/min or 20-23 beats/10 sec)
The warm-down protocols can also be used for workouts after hard swimming sets. A warm-down will help to recover faster before the next workout
Here's a good presentation on lactate clearance and recovery swimming by Genadijus Sokolovas, former Director of Physiology for USA Swimming.
The conclusions:
Swimming at high velocity yields high amounts of lactate in the muscles. This has negative effects on the ability of the muscles to contract. In order for a swimmer to perform at maximal effort again, lactate must be removed
Active recovery (swimming warm-down) is helpful for lactate removal. During passive recovery (i.e. sitting on the bench) lactate removal is very slow
Duration of post-race recovery should be 25-30 min for sprinters, 20-25 min for middle distance swimmers, and 15-20 min for distance swimmers
Swimming intensity during warm-down should be light for sprinters (about 50-55% of maximum 100 m swimming velocity), light to moderate for middle distance swimmers (55-60% of maximum 100 m swimming velocity), and moderate for distance swimmers (60-65% of maximum 100 m swimming velocity)
The post-race recovery protocol should include straight swimming. Warm-down can be substituted with stretching if there is no warm-down pool available. Heart rate during stretching should be low (120-140 beats/min or 20-23 beats/10 sec)
The warm-down protocols can also be used for workouts after hard swimming sets. A warm-down will help to recover faster before the next workout
