If a careful warm-up helps
prevent muscle soreness, what does the cool-off period do?
Can’t you just lie down and let the sweat dry until you go
to the shower?
In answer to the first question,
the cool-down period allows the blood to be gradually redistributed
in the normal resting pattern. The body temperature returns
to normal. Your heart rate goes back to normal.
The answer to the second question
is No. The best procedure is to keep moving for at least several
minutes after vigorous exercise. You are trying to get your
breathing and heart rate back to normal. You want your body
to literally cool down.
Why not just lie down—or sit down—to cool off? An abrupt and
complete cessation of the exercise reduces the flow of venous
blood to the heart. A complete stop may also decrease the
heart stroke volume. The heart may have to work much harder
to maintain an adequate blood flow. Thus abruptly terminating
exercise may lead to dizziness, fainting, shock, or other
strain on the heart. Most heart attacks that afflict older
persons in exercise situations take place during the post-exercise
period.
The ideal cool-down exercise
is slow jogging or walking. At the same time the subject should
swing his or her arms. Once the pulse rate has reached about
120—a ten-second count of 20—the re-adjustment has been largely
accomplished.
Hot showers, saunas, and steam baths also are not recommended
for the immediate post-exercise period. The hot shower, sauna,
or steam bath merely adds strain. While they can be enjoyable
and relaxing, be sure to wait until the body has returned
completely to normal before indulging in them
Ice-cold showers present their
own dangers. Ice-cold water flowing over the chest increases
the blood pressure. It also raises the heart rate and cardiac
output. While a healthy individual can tolerate the additional
load, a person with cardiovascular problems could experience
difficulties. Such a person may or may not know of his condition;
the ice-cold shower would take its toll in either case.
The need to shower after heavy
exercise cannot, of course, be minimized. A noted educator
once stated that a social gap exists between those who bathe
daily and those who do not. The gap would widen if the shower
were not a post exercise priority. But the shower water should
have a moderate temperature—about 70 degrees. At that temperature,
the shower tones the skin while also cleaning.
Some experts recommend a warm
shower followed by a cool one. The warm shower opens the skin
pores; the cool one closed them. Medical authorities agree
generally that the practice has merit for persons in good
health.