Kung Fu Kendra
🇨🇦​ Canada's Top Fitness Trainer
Cool down is much like the warmup in that its important to get your body prepared for rest mode after a workout. The joints and muscles have worked hard during the workout and to balance that out, it's important to do a cool down. In this article, I will be going over a series of cool down exercises that you can do easily after your workout. Keeping in mind everyone is unique and different in their own way and requires different guidance, I have prepared a personalized exercise video that I make for you - to help you reach your goals.
This video will demonstrate cool down exercises.
Go ahead and place the hand behind the back and keeping the feet shoulder width apart - with a slight bend in the knees. Start by moving the neck side to side and breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. It's important when you're looking side to side to use your eyes to almost look behind you. You want to increase development peripheral vision and work the eye muscles.
Moving from dynamic arm movements, we are going to stretch the arms up by placing them above my head and stretching up. Keep the fingers interlocked and palms facing out. Stretch the arms up with the palms facing the ceiling. Releasing that by bringing your arms behind your head. Its important to be breathing in on the extension and out on the release of this stretch.Now I will teach you to dynamically stretch the arms across the chest forward. Keeping your palms open, swing your arms across the chest, palms open on the extension. Keep in mind to make sure your knees are slightly bent and that you are breathing always.You are now going to learn something called arm rotations or, circling the arms forward. Make sure your palms are open and that you have enough room around you to swing the arms (a full arms length of room). Swing your arms forward crossing over at the center of your body, in front making large circles forward. Now we will move to dynamically stretching the arms diagonally, crossing over at the center of the body and swinging open on the extension. Keeping the palms open. Your arms should be switching positions each time, left hand is on top, right hand is on top, left hand is on top, right hand is on top.
You're now going to learn hip rotations. Simply place your hands on your hips. Rotate the hips in such a way that if you can imagine circling the hips around the head. Much like a pendulum. Rotate the hips 10 times in each direction making sure your feet are larger than shoulder width apart. Dynamic stretching is important, especially for the hips. Unlike stationary stretching as we will learn in the next blog, dynamic stretching is a part of a proper cool down.
I will now teach you something called trunk rotations. What you want to do is you want to grab both of your elbows behind your back and keep your feet more than shoulder width apart.I would say double shoulder width apart. Rotating the top of your body, the trunk so to speak down and up in a circle rotation.
Place your hands on your knees for something called knee rotations.
Circling the knees to the left 20 times and then to the right.
Now moving the knees up and down.
I will now teach you how to dynamically stretch and move the ankle joints.
Take your left ankle and bring it out to the side and start to rotate the heel in a circular motion on the floor. Keep the ball of the foot circling and then switch legs. Do this 30 rotations on each leg.
The benefits of cool down exercises and stretches is that they lower your chance of injury , promote blood circulation, reduce mental and emotional stress, and reduce physical stress on the heart oragan. Furthermore, your heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure levels will return to their normal levels before you continue with your day. The cool down is an essential part of any workout or exercise. A cool down can last for 3-20 minutes, sometimes more and includes stretches or gentle variations of the movements you did during your workout and otherwise. The purpose of cooling down after exercise is to allow your heart rate and breathing to return to normal and to promote relaxation. You might be tempted to skip your post-workout cool down, but there are several reasons that cooling down is important including it slows down your breathing. When your heart rate increases with exercise, your breathing becomes deeper as well. This is a sign that you are working hard and burning more calories with that particular exercise. A cool down allows your breath to slowly return to the same rhythm prior to starting your workout. The cooldown helps your heart rate and breathing to return towards resting levels gradually; helps avoid fainting or dizziness, which can result from blood pooling in the large muscles of the legs when vigorous activity is stopped suddenly. The cool down helps to remove waste products from your muscles, such as lactic acid - which can build up during vigorous activity (lactic acid is most effectively removed by gentle exercise rather than stopping suddenly); and helps to prepare your muscles for the next exercise session. One of the most important benefits of exercise, including the cool down is improved self-confidence. The cool down is a great opportunity for you to reflect on your accomplishments and give yourself credit for the hard work you did during the workout. This can promote a sense of relaxation and well-being as well as boosting your motivation and feeling on top of the world. Remember, the cooldown is ther perfect segway into stretching.