Cooling Down After Your Run
Cooling down after your run is critical to your recovery and sets you up to have a great run the next day. A gradual cooldown will return your heart rate and breathing patterns to normal, helping you to avoid fainting or dizziness.
Stopping instantly after a hard session causes blood to pool in your active muscles and doesn’t allow the blood in your working muscles to be redispersed gradually back to your heart and brain.
Cooling down will allow you to remove the metabolic waste products such as lactic acid that have accumulated in your muscles after your run. Ridding your blood of these waste by-products prepares your muscles for the next exercise session, either the next day or several days later. You will also reduce post-workout muscle soreness.
How To Do A Proper Cooldown After A Run
Gradually slow down your running pace over 5 to 15 minutes. A harder run or exercise program will require a longer cooldown because of the larger quantities of metabolic waste in your blood.
Stretch for 10 minutes, especially your legs and back, after your workout to remove any muscle tightness developed during your run. The legs are most prone to injury and stretching will help prevent problems, restoring your muscles to their resting length and improve flexibility. It will also help increase the range of motion in your joints, and reduce the risk of muscle cramping, soreness and stiffness.
Soaking In An Ice Bath
Submerge your legs in an ice bath after a hard run. The cold water will cause your blood vessels to tighten up and push the blood out of your legs. After 5 to 10 minutes, your legs will start to feel very cold and numb.
Ice baths invigorate the legs and stimulate blood flow for healing. The ice nips any bleeding that you have in your muscles or other tissues before it progresses into an injury. Once you exit the ice bath, your legs will begin to fill back up with fresh blood, stimulating your muscles with oxygen and helping the cells function better. At the same time, the old blood will carry away the lactic acid and cleanse the legs.
Do be careful, though, as you get out of an ice bath as your legs will be wobbly. The ideal temperature of an ice bath is around 45°F to 50°F (7°C to 10°C), which is cold enough to be effective without freezing your skin.
The best type of ice bath is a whirlpool designed for soaking the body or legs. Alternatively, you can use a cold-water bathtub or place cold towels on your legs while leaning them against the wall or propping them up higher than your heart.
Contrast Showers
Another way to benefit from cold water to heal your muscles is to use contrasting showers. After you complete a run or exercise workout, try alternating between hot and cold water.
Begin showering and then alternate between 1 minute of warm water and 1 minute of cold water, for 8 to 10 minutes. The contrast in temperature promotes blood flow and stimulates the nervous system, both of which positively influences recovery and arousal levels and help the healing and blood transfer process.
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