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Bell, MD, FACP — By Emily Cronkleton on December 17, For everyone After running For seniors For kids Benefits When to see a pro Takeaway Share on Pinterest.

For everyone. Share on Pinterest. After running. For seniors. For kids. Benefits of cooling down. When to see a pro. The bottom line. How we reviewed this article: Sources. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations.

A post-workout cool-down refers to a myriad of strategies to bring your body back to equilibrium after a training session. You might opt for stretching , jogging, low-intensity cycling or swimming, cold water immersion, or even sitting in a sauna.

Cool-downs are widely thought to be able to do pretty much anything — prevent muscle soreness , hasten your recovery after an intense session , and make you more flexible. Athletes often enjoy stretching after a workout because it allows them the space and time to relax , reflect on their training session or competition, and even socialize.

Enjoying the process might just make all the difference in terms of having an effective cool-down. When your heart is thumping wildly after an intense training session , bringing it back down is one of the principle goals of a cool-down.

Performing an active cool-down lowers your heart rate more efficiently than passive recovery. Active recovery sessions performed right after intense workouts have been shown to be more effective than passive recovery at clearing creatine kinase CK from your bloodstream.

Yes, you can have cardio in your program without messing up your muscle mass or strength levels. Cooling down with a moderate-intensity, minute jog does not interfere with long-term gains for well-trained athletes.

This means that, with significant experience under your belt, you can safely add cardio into your training routine without negatively impacting strength. Sure, they have plenty of benefits. A low-intensity minute run, alongside eight minutes of lower limb static stretching — typical of many cool-down routines — has been shown to have no significant impact on stiffness nor range of motion after 45 minutes of exercise.

After your workout, choose a mode of active recovery that you genuinely enjoy. Try to think about your cool-down as a transition out of the gym and back into the rest of your day. What do you need to effectively make that happen?

A jog or cold plunge to clear your head? Some long, meditative minutes of stretching? The end of your workout can be a great time to work on any shortcomings in your program. Plug some into your cool-down. Need to practice integrating consistent mobility exercises into your routine?

Program a stretch-focused cool-down. Want to add some meditative stretching or clear your head by doing some deep breathing in a sauna?

Plan your cool-down accordingly. What kind of cool-down you do will definitely depend on what you have access to and what you like. Here are some ways to get creative with your cool-down.

This can increase your flexibility, which is thought to help prevent future injury when coupled with strength. It can also help lengthen and reduce tension in tight muscles — you'll usually need to hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds for that juicy release.

Remember, cool down stretches might feel uncomfortable, but you should never push yourself to the point of pain. This is supposed to feel good, friend. An effective cool down includes three key components. All parts are equally important to help your muscles recover and repair. Here's what they are:.

If you've done a lower body-focused HIIT , strength or combo session, give your jelly legs some love with this sequence. Perform these cool down exercises in a circuit twice after your workout. a While seated on your mat, extend both legs out in front of you.

Lift your left leg and bend your knee to bring your foot to the inside of your right knee. b Bending from the hips, reach for your right foot or as far as you can.

If you can reach your toes, gently pull them back towards you, or just rest your hands on your ankles or shins — whichever is most comfortable. c Hold this position, breathing deeply throughout. Each time that you exhale, lower your torso further towards your legs, ensuring that you are bending from the hips and not rounding through your spine.

a Lie on your back, and bring your feet into tabletop position. Cross your right foot over your left thigh to create a 4 shape with your legs. Lace your hands together around the back of your left thigh, and gently pull the leg towards you. c Hold this position. Each time that you exhale, try to draw the left leg closer to deepen the stretch.

Repeat this stretch on the other side. a Plant both feet on the floor slightly further shoulder-width apart. b Bend your right knee and bring your foot back directly behind you so that you can hold it with both hands.

You should feel a stretch in the front of your right leg. Repeat this stretch with your left leg. a Start in a kneeling position on your mat. Release your left leg and take one large step forwards so that you are in a low lunge position, ensuring that your left knee is not further forward than your toes.

If it is, then you will need to take a bigger step forward. b Keeping your torso upright, push your hips forwards so that you feel a stretch along the front of your right leg. Each time that you exhale, use your abdominals to tuck your pubic bone towards your belly button to increase the stretch.

Move both legs outwards as wide as they can go. b Sit up tall and place your hands behind your ears, or on the floor in front of you. Bending from the hips, reach as far forward as possible,. Each time that you exhale, bend a little more to gradually increase the stretch.

a Start in the centre of your mat on all fours, ensuring that your shoulders are stacked over your hands and your hips are over your knees, toes untucked. b Draw your toes together and widen your knees. Draw your glutes towards your heels and lower your torso towards the mat. Extend your arms along the mat, resting your head on the mat between your arms.

Create space between your shoulders and ears by drawing your shoulder blades down and back. c Hold this position, continuously breathing in and out through your nose.

Perform these cool down exercises in a circuit twice after your session for the best results. a Start by lying flat on your stomach on your mat, resting your forearms on the mat on either side of your chest.

b Press your hands into the mat and slowly lift your chest. Draw your shoulder blades down and back — think of your head as an extension of your spine. a Plant both feet on the floor hip-width apart with your arms by your sides. But go at a low, slow pace that slowly builds in speed and intensity.

This is called a dynamic warmup. A warmup may cause mild sweating. But a warmup generally won't leave you tired. Cooling down is similar to warming up. You generally keep doing your workout session for five minutes or so.

But you go at a slower pace and lower intensity. If you do stretching exercises as part of your workout routine, it's best to do them after the warm-up or cool-down phase.

Then the muscles are warm when you stretch. Stretching can improve flexibility and range of motion about a joint. Doing stretches also may help improve your performance in some activities by allowing the joints to move through their full range of motion.

But studies haven't regularly shown that stretching helps prevent muscle soreness or injury. Finding time for regular aerobic workouts — plus warming up and cooling down — can be hard.

But with a little creativity, you can probably fit it all in. For example, you can walk to and from the gym for your warmup and cool-down. There is a problem with information submitted for this request.

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Products and services. Aerobic exercise: How to warm up and cool down Done correctly, warming up and cooling down may offer help in reducing your risk of injury and improving your athletic performance.

Step your right foot feet forward; straighten the leg and flex your foot. Then bend your left knee as you hinge at the waist and lean forward over the straight right leg. Feel a stretch down the back of your leg and into your calf. Hold for breaths and then switch sides. Standing with your feet as wide as your hips, balance on your left leg and bring the right leg up.

Cross the right ankle over the left thigh and bend the left knee out to the side. Balance here. Flex the right foot. You can also mimic this exercise while seated. Begin on all fours with your hands and knees on the ground.

Step your right foot forward in between your hands, and then bring both hands to the inside of the right foot. Wiggle your right foot out to the right, and open the right hip, letting the right knee fall to the side so that you rest on the outer edge of your right foot.

Keep the left knee on the mat, and rest the left foot on the mat. Push forward gently into your hips and hold. Switch so that your left foot is forward and repeat.

Hold for seconds. Lying down on your back, hug both knees into your chest. Keeping your torso facing forward, lower the legs to the right and turn your head to the left. Hold the stretch for 3 breaths, then come to center.

Switch to the left side, hold for 3 breaths, and then move on to the next exercise. They are often an afterthought when it comes to stretching, but they get a workout too, especially during cardio exercise.

Sitting upright and barefoot, rock onto your heels and flex your toes. Then rock forward onto your arches and onto the balls of your feet, lifting your heels off of the ground but keeping your toes on the ground.

Repeat 10 times. Sit upright and barefoot with your feet on the ground and knees bent at 90 degrees. Open your toes as wide as you can and hold for 5 seconds.

Stephanie Mansour is a contributing health and fitness writer for TODAY. She is a certified personal trainer, yoga and Pilates instructor and weight-loss coach for women. Join her complimentary health and weight-loss challenge and follow her for daily inspiration on Instagram and in her new app.

These exercises can be static stretching activities, which improve the primary muscle groups that you used when exercising. For example, if you were jogging, then the muscle groups such as the calf muscles, the quadriceps muscles, and the gluteal muscles would all be used.

Engaging in static stretching exercises for these muscles to develop and maintain their flexibility would be beneficial to your recovery in the long run. Stretches can be both dynamic and static.

The major difference between the two is that the former involves muscle movement, while the latter involves holding the movement for a period of anywhere between seconds. Usually, a combination of both is best.

A cool-down is equally important. Physiotherapist Phil Evans from Urban Body suggests the following poses.

This article is not meant to offer medical advice and readers should consult their doctor or healthcare professional before adopting any diet or exercise regime.

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Jump to: Why cooling down after exercise is important How to properly cool down after a workout Cool down stretches to try. Uzo Ehiogu. Phil Evans Social Links Navigation.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors. Stacey Carter. Mark Harrast , medical director of the Sports Medicine Center at Husky Stadium, explains why a cooldown is an essential part of your workout and how to effectively cool down after you exercise.

A cooldown eases you out of your workout and allows your heart rate and breathing to gradually return to normal. For instance, if you just went for a run, cool down with a light jog or walk. A cooldown for a strength workout such as Pilates could include some yoga poses.

You know that muscle burn you feel when you finish that last set of lunges? The lactate then travels into your bloodstream and — if you cool down after a workout — is quickly cleared out of your system.

This fast-tracks your recovery, which means less time spent being sore after a workout. To cool down, pick a low-intensity activity that is similar to the exercise you did for your workout.

You can cool down after a swim workout with some easy laps, end a bike ride with a few minutes of light pedaling and cap off a weightlifting workout with some dynamic stretches.

Other low-intensity cooldown activities include jogging, moving through some yoga poses or going for a short walk. As you do your activity, think about whether or not you could hold a full conversation with someone — it should be that easy.

Notice your heart rate slow down and take some deep breaths. Let your body relax and unwind from the hard work you just did. Some exercise experts feel that this kind of stretching can increase flexibility and even decrease your risk of injury after a workout.

This can increase muscle tension and potentially cause more harm than good. Sit on the floor with one leg out straight. Bend the other leg at the knee and position the sole of that foot against your opposite inner thigh.

Then, extend your arms and reach forward over your straight leg, bending at the waist. After 30 to 60 seconds, switch to your other leg.

Place your hands on a wall and step one foot back into a small lunge, bending your front leg and keeping your back leg straight. Lean into the wall and press your back heel down so it's flat on the ground. After 30 to 60 seconds, repeat on the other side.