How to Cool Down After a Summer Workout
Overview
After exercising it’s important to make sure that you have a proper cool down, this helps to decrease your heart rate and lower your body temperature. It’s even more important to cool down in the summer heat because the heat can cause increased body temperate, a faster heart rate, dehydration, and other heat relates issues. Since the heat adds extra stress on your body while you’re working out it’s important to add hydration, cold towels, electrolytes, and more to your cool down Having a solid cool down and knowing what to add to it in the summer months will help you feel rejuvenated and refreshed after your workout.
What is a cool down?
Cooling down after exercising involves doing an activity that is similar but at a lower intensity then the workout that you just completed. This helps to gradually bring your heart rate and body temperature back to what is was before you started exercising. Without a proper cool down you could feel a little sick or even pass out from the abrupt change in heart rate. Its also important to incorporate stretching into your cool down to help reduce the amount of lactic acid that has built up which can causes sore muscles.
How should you adjust your cool down for the summer heat?
With the increase of heat during the summer how should your cool down account for the change in temperature? To prevent heat stroke and to help to cool down after working out it’s a priority to focus on hydration and cooling down your body temperature. Ways to modify your cool down to account for the summer heat are to drink cold water while doing cool down activities, drape your head or neck with a chilled towel, drink plenty of electrolytes, and mist yourself with cool water. All these techniques and more are great additives to add to a cool down when its hot outside to help to cool down your body temperature after a workout in the heat.
Cool down exercises and stretches
To help to cool down after a workout here are some exercises and stretches that help to decrease your heart rate, help to lower your body temperature, and decrease soreness.
- Walking -Walking is a great way to cool down after high intensity workouts like running. After you finish exercising walk around for around 5 - 10 minutes or until your heart rate has slowed down and your breathing has returned to normal. During the summer heat drink water during the cool down and try to walk in a shaded area or inside to further cool down.
- Slowly swimming laps - After an intense swimming workout a great cool down to do is swimming laps slowly for 5 - 10 minutes or until you feel like your heart rate has decreased. To account for the summer heat take breaks during the cool down and drink water along with take a cold shower when you get our of the water.
- Stretching - After cooling down with less intense exercises it’s important to stretch out your muscles. Some stretches that you can do are the “Runner’s Lunge”, the “World’s Greatest Stretch”, “Tricep Stretch”, and “Cross-body Shoulder Stretch”. While your stretching make sure that you are in the shade and are drinking plenty of water and electrolytes.
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