Even if you haven’t started exercising yet, you’ve probably heard of the terms warm up and cool down. These two are fundamental to all types of workouts, whether you’re running, lifting weights, or doing yoga. So before you start your fitness journey, here’s all you need to know about the exercise basics: warm up and cool down.
This is the 4th part of my exercise series! If you’re an exercise newbie or want to know if you’ve got the basics down, read the rest of the series here.
What is a warm-up and a cool-down?
A warm-up is a series of exercises that prepare you for the actual workout. It slowly increases your heart rate and the blood flow to your muscles, as well as raises your body temperature.
On the other hand, a cool-down is a series of movements and stretches done after the workout routine to gradually bring your body back to the resting state, decreasing your heart rate and blood pressure back to normal.
Importance of warm-up and cool-down
These two exercise basics are important to an effective and injury-free workout. The key is in gradually easing your body in and out of the exercise session. This gives your body a chance to prepare and signals it to start working or relaxing not abruptly, but slowly.
Warm up benefits
When you warm up, the muscle groups you target are less strained by the movements and stretches you do during the exercise routine. Since it increases blood flow, there is more oxygen and enzymes available for your body to utilize, which allows you to work faster, stronger, and longer, according to this article from self.com.
Warming up also raises your body temperature, which helps lower the risk of getting injured and also minimizes muscle soreness. The same article from self.com likened our muscles (and all our tendons, ligaments, blood vessels) to rubber bands. When they’re cold, they tend to snap. But when you warm them up, they become more elastic.
Aside from the physical benefits, warm-ups also prepare you mentally for the hard work to come.
Cool down benefits
When you’re exercising, your heart works in overdrive to pump blood so that your muscles get the oxygen they need. If you stop abruptly, your heart and muscles return to their normal pace. However, your blood vessels may take more time to catch up which can slow the flow of oxygenated blood to your brain. This can make you feel dizzy and lightheaded.
Cooling down, which slowly returns your breathing and heart rate to normal, helps prevent this from happening. In addition, it can also reduce lactic acid build up that can lead to muscle cramps and stiffness.
How to do these exercise basics
Now that we’ve established the whats and whys, how exactly do we warm up and cool down? Is there a fixed duration or specific moves to follow? Knowing the proper way of doing these basic exercises is essential to reaping their benefits.
How to warm up
Your warm-up will largely depend on the type of workout you’re going to do. Since warm-ups should prepare you, focus on the muscles that you will work the hardest in your exercise. For example, if you’re going to run, you don’t want to spend a lot of time doing arm-intensive warm ups. You want to warm up your legs and your feet.
To make sure you’re warming up the right parts, do an easy version of the exercises you’re about to do. For example, if you’re going to lift weights, do the moves with just body weight or very light weights first.
You don’t want it to be too intense because that would defeat the purpose of a warm-up. Start slow and light to wake your muscles up then pick up the pace as you get warmer.
The duration of your warm-up will depend on the intensity of your workout and how long you’ve been active. If you’re going to do a HIIT workout and have been sitting all day, then warm up longer.
How to cool down
Cooling down is similar to doing a warm up, but in the opposite way. Instead of gradually increasing your speed, you want to decrease it. You want to keep moving, but not as intense as during your workout. Continue until your heart rate returns to normal.
It will also be good to do some stretching. This helps you improve the flexibility of your joints, release muscle tension, and increase blood circulation. In turn, this prevents muscle soreness and stiffness.
As with a warm up, you want to focus on stretching and cooling down the muscles you worked the most. For example, if you ran, you want to make sure to stretch all your leg muscles (quads, hamstrings, calves, etc.), your hips, and your lower back.
Not sure how to do it for a specific exercise?
Thanks to the wonderful world wide web, knowing which warm-up or cool-down to do for all types of workouts is easy. Just type it in your favorite search engine and you’ll see a lot of videos or articles walking you through the best moves for that type of exercise. If you follow workout videos at home, most of them have warm-ups and cool-downs included. You can always extend if you feel like you need to do it longer.
Don’t skip the warm-up and cool-down!
You now know all about warming up and cooling down, so don’t skip these exercise basics! Whatever fitness level you’re in, warm-ups and cool-downs are essential for each workout. This ensures we get the most out of each exercise while taking care of our bodies. Add it to your exercise routine so you don’t miss out on the benefits! It always pays to start and end everything right.
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Related:
Benefits of Having An Exercise Routine
Best No-Equipment Home Exercises For Beginners
What Exercise Beginners Should Know