We’ve already seen that warming up is an essential part of working out. Now we’re going to focus on how cooling down for muscle recovery is just as important. The right muscle recovery exercises prevent injuries, aches, and pains, allowing for any damaged tissues to heal, while clearing out the lactic acids that build up from strenuous physical activity.
Naturally, each muscle recovery exercise is tailored to the type of fitness session you had, but no matter what muscles you worked out, cooling down the right way afterwards helps your heart rate slow down, it brings your breathing back to normal, and it allows your muscles to relax. Recovery time should last between 3 and 10 minutes. Ways to cool down involve doing stretches and other light exercises related to what you did during the workout.
Recovery exercises after cardiovascular training
For cardio, a good way to cool down is to continue the same exercises you were doing during the workout, but at an increasingly slower pace, until eventually it takes you no effort to keep going. For example, if you’ve just finished an intense run, instead of abruptly stopping, it’s better to slow down to a light jog or speed walk for a few minutes, and then when you finally finish, get busy doing some leg stretches.
Recovery exercises after strength training
After a strength training session, the best thing you can do is stretch the same muscles you’ve just exercised. A perfect example of this would be doing stretches that focus on your biceps and triceps, right after having worked your arms, and before going on to the next exercises.Yoga poses are great for muscle recovery after a session of strength training.
Remember that your neck and back are what bear the brunt of most fitness sessions, and we often don’t even realize it. We only become aware of how much tension we have stored in our necks and backs when it’s too late. That’s why it’s crucial that after any workout, you want to spend two or three minutes stretching everything from your neck to your lower back.
If you’re not sure which recovery exercises to do after a particular workout, you can always consult our Basic-Fit app, or get advice from one of our personal trainers.
