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
I found this article on Cool Down:
Swimming down is the most important recovery procedure
You should always swim down for 10 to 20 minutes (600 to 1000 metres). Several studies have shown that recovery time will be halved by active recovery as compared to passive recovery.
The mechanism of swimming down is explained by a much more pronounced decrease in blood lactate levels when applying active recovery methods, because blood flow through the muscels is maintained at a high level. Only when doing short sprint series, does passive recovery offer advantages . However, for the middle and long distance swimmer, swimming down is the preferred way to recover quickly.
In addition, active recovery improves oxygen delivery to the muscles, which helps to replenish used up energy reserves (gluconeogenesis, fatty acid metabolism).
Swimming down after a race ...
It is not easy for coaches to persuade swimmers to swim down. In fact, it is more important to swim down than to collect your medals at the awards ceremony. In particular, this is important when you have more events on your agenda. Swimming down is the necessary prerequisite for further successful swims. Meeting organisers should take this into account when setting up meets schedules and choosing a pool complex (which they very rarely do).
... and after a work out
The same principles apply for work outs, in particular, if you have been doing anaerobic or high intensity aerobic sets. Swimming down is fundamental for an efficient recovery. People who suffer from headaches after a work out should reconsider their swimming down practise. Quite often a headache comes from inadequate swimming down .
Speed
Swimming speed during recovery should range from 30to 50 % of your maximum speed, which is relatively slow, but fast enough to keep your blood circulation busy. As mentioned in the introduction, the recommended time lies between 10 and 20 minutes.
Source: www.svl.ch
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Former Member
I found this article on Cool Down:
Swimming down is the most important recovery procedure
You should always swim down for 10 to 20 minutes (600 to 1000 metres). Several studies have shown that recovery time will be halved by active recovery as compared to passive recovery.
The mechanism of swimming down is explained by a much more pronounced decrease in blood lactate levels when applying active recovery methods, because blood flow through the muscels is maintained at a high level. Only when doing short sprint series, does passive recovery offer advantages . However, for the middle and long distance swimmer, swimming down is the preferred way to recover quickly.
In addition, active recovery improves oxygen delivery to the muscles, which helps to replenish used up energy reserves (gluconeogenesis, fatty acid metabolism).
Swimming down after a race ...
It is not easy for coaches to persuade swimmers to swim down. In fact, it is more important to swim down than to collect your medals at the awards ceremony. In particular, this is important when you have more events on your agenda. Swimming down is the necessary prerequisite for further successful swims. Meeting organisers should take this into account when setting up meets schedules and choosing a pool complex (which they very rarely do).
... and after a work out
The same principles apply for work outs, in particular, if you have been doing anaerobic or high intensity aerobic sets. Swimming down is fundamental for an efficient recovery. People who suffer from headaches after a work out should reconsider their swimming down practise. Quite often a headache comes from inadequate swimming down .
Speed
Swimming speed during recovery should range from 30to 50 % of your maximum speed, which is relatively slow, but fast enough to keep your blood circulation busy. As mentioned in the introduction, the recommended time lies between 10 and 20 minutes.
Source: www.svl.ch
