DEEP FREEZE – WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DON’T COOL DOWN AFTER WORKING OUT

A training session or workout generally consists of three phases: warm-up, main work-out and cool- down.  This applies to athletes across all levels and spectrums of sport, whether you are a professional athlete or a weekend warrior trying to stay fit. 

We all know we need a good warm-up to loosen the muscles and to increase blood flow and heart rate.  Most of the time, a solid warm-up sets the stage for a great workout or training session and it is regarded as a particularly important part of any training session.  It is also common knowledge that a proper warm-up decreases the chance of injury occurring during training – yet another reason why we should never skip this important phase. 

Once your warm-up is complete, your body is ready to meet and exceed the expectations and goals of the training session. We push ourselves to obtain better times, lift heavier weights, go further than before – all of this to constantly improve our ability. And, we certainly feel good after a hard training session.

And then comes the cool-down… 

We might run out of time or just feel too tired. Whatever the reason, we often convince ourselves that we do not need to cool down and so we neglect this important phase. We rush off after our main work-out, often not considering the consequences of not cooling down correctly. This is one of the biggest mistakes we can make as athletes. Just as we prepared our bodies for exercise through a proper warm-up, we should also prepare our bodies for recovery through a solid cool-down session.

During your work-out, your body is under stress. Adrenaline is pumping through your veins, muscles are working and your heart rate is up. If you do not take the time to cool down, your body will remain in this state of stress for longer. This can have a negative impact on your heart, liver and other organs.

Lactic acid has built up in your muscles during training.  If there is no cooling down phase, this lactic acid will remain in your muscles for longer than it should which can then lead to muscular pain and delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS).

During training, micro tears in the muscle fibers occur. For the muscle to adapt to the required work-out, these tears need to heal. Cooling down therefore sets the stage for the body to heal itself. 

A proper cool down will also decrease inflammation and soreness around your muscles and joints. If done correctly, the cool down phase will decrease recovery time enabling you to be able to push yourself even harder in the following training session. However, if we do not cool down, the buildup of waist products in our system will lead to a lethargic feeling in consecutive workouts.  

We recommend the use of a cooling down gel in order to aid and enhance the processes in one’s body that takes place during the cool down period. Deep Freeze Cold Gel is an excellent product that brings about cooling to any muscle or joint area. It will also assist in decreasing swelling should any be present after a hard work-out.

So, never neglect your cool-down if you want to be effective in your next training session. And, be sure to keep Deep Freeze Cold Gel handy for a more effective cool-down and recovery post work-out.

Article written by EPT – The Ultimate Sports Recovery Experts