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...
It's kinda funny... I just wrote an article for swimnetwork on this topic without even reading this debate first. After 20 years of coaching and almost 30 of swimming, my experience has shown me that I and my swimmers perform better in multiple bouts within the same day (and for multiple bouts over multiple days) with a good swim down after each event.
I never saw this demonstrated as well as I did at one high school meet about 5 years ago (if Nadine's reading, she might remember this - it was a dual meet between our two girls' HS teams). We had two drop-dead sprinters of about the same speed who both swam the 50 free and 100 fly. Nadine's swimmer touched mine out in the 50. I sent my swimmer to swim down before the diving break while the other swimmer just laughed about swimming down. I specifically remember Nadine telling her, "you ought to swim down." So, as we're getting ready for the 100 fly, just before the race, I tell my swimmer, "Sit next to her for the first 50, and then go for it. If you take off on the second 50, watch what happens." Off the wall on the 3rd 25, my swimmer went for it, and Nadine's swimmer felt the proverbial piano land squarely on her back. It wasn't even close at the finish. Nadine's swimmer looked at me with a pained look after the race. I looked over and said, "maybe you should've swum down."
Science may call it an old wives' tale, but it has worked for me and my swimmers for some years. While I'm all about change and new trends in training and science, if swimming down didn't work for us, I wouldn't have my folks do it. As with anything in this sport, your mileage may (and likely will) vary, so I say go with what works best for you.
It's kinda funny... I just wrote an article for swimnetwork on this topic without even reading this debate first. After 20 years of coaching and almost 30 of swimming, my experience has shown me that I and my swimmers perform better in multiple bouts within the same day (and for multiple bouts over multiple days) with a good swim down after each event.
I never saw this demonstrated as well as I did at one high school meet about 5 years ago (if Nadine's reading, she might remember this - it was a dual meet between our two girls' HS teams). We had two drop-dead sprinters of about the same speed who both swam the 50 free and 100 fly. Nadine's swimmer touched mine out in the 50. I sent my swimmer to swim down before the diving break while the other swimmer just laughed about swimming down. I specifically remember Nadine telling her, "you ought to swim down." So, as we're getting ready for the 100 fly, just before the race, I tell my swimmer, "Sit next to her for the first 50, and then go for it. If you take off on the second 50, watch what happens." Off the wall on the 3rd 25, my swimmer went for it, and Nadine's swimmer felt the proverbial piano land squarely on her back. It wasn't even close at the finish. Nadine's swimmer looked at me with a pained look after the race. I looked over and said, "maybe you should've swum down."
Science may call it an old wives' tale, but it has worked for me and my swimmers for some years. While I'm all about change and new trends in training and science, if swimming down didn't work for us, I wouldn't have my folks do it. As with anything in this sport, your mileage may (and likely will) vary, so I say go with what works best for you.
