fitness fundamentals - the importance of cooling down
In our previous article, we learned why warmups are important in our preparation for our workouts. Now let’s focus on the cooldown and why it is just as critical as the warmup. After physical activity, our hearts are beating faster than normal, our body temperature is elevated, and our blood vessels are widened. All of these physiological changes enable us to perform our chosen exercise, but as they say, ‘what goes up must come down.’ Cooling down gradually after physical activity allows our bodies to return to a resting state while reducing the occurrence of muscle cramps, dizziness, and injury. If we skip this important step, we run the risk of feeling sick or light-headed because our heart rate and blood pressure drop rapidly. Incorporating flexibility exercises into the cooldown is also important because the muscles and joints are warm and lubricated, and studies show that stretching after exercise provides the most sustainable flexibility long-term, which means our muscles and joints are most likely functioning in the best range of motion. The cooldown can impact how our bodies function for several hours after our workout, as well as how we feel the next day. Cooldowns can be as short as 3 minutes, or last up to 10 minutes based on your exercise exertion. The harder the workout, the longer the cooldown. And remember, this is time well spent!
In your Body & Soul® workouts, the cooldowns are built in for you, but here are some general tips for when you are working out on your own:
- Cool down for 3 to 10 minutes, including your stretch time. The more intense the activity, the longer the cooldown.
- Keep moving and reduce your speed to allow your heart rate to slow down. You can keep doing the movement from your cardio routine, just do it at a slower pace and with smaller movements.
- In general, it’s recommended that your flexibility routine focus on “mover” muscle groups first, such as your hamstrings, calves, and chest muscles.
- Breathe deeply and slowly as you progress through your stretches, holding each stretch between 10 and 30 seconds, while thinking about each muscle group so your targeted muscle is getting the best stretch possible.
by Amy Stafford
Panama City Beach, FL
Amy Stafford is the President of Body & Soul® Fitness, Certified Personal Trainer, ACE faculty and ACE Group Fitness Instructor. She is a leader in the fitness industry and is a popular speaker for women's events, retreats, fitness conferences. For information on booking Amy for your event or for an interview please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Amy currently resides in the Panama City Beach, FL area and teaches virtually.Body and Soul® Fitness is an international Christian fitness organization that trains and equips instructors to lead a variety of group fitness programs including choreographed aerobics-style Cardio Strength & Flexibility™, cardio dance style Dance Blast™, free-weights-focused Power Strength™, boot camp style FIT360™ and Longevity FIT360™, and GOLD™ - lower impact programming for participants that are pregnant, have weight challenges, injuries, or other medical conditions. These exercise classes meet in church gyms, community centers, gymnasiums, parking lots, schools, etc. across the United States, Europe, and Africa. In-person and virtual fitness classes are available.
Key words: Christian fitness, women's exercise classes, group fitness, dance aerobics classes, Christian group fitness, Christian fitness app, FitTV, Body & Soul, Body and Soul, fitness instuctor training, low impact exercise
