WPH Press
Time To Cool Down Concept
Each Wednesday the WPH features the WPH Wednesday Workout, designed to help you become a stronger, fitter, faster, and better handball player. From leg and shoulder strengthening exercises to HIT Training, biking, balance, footwork, agility, coordination, and much more, the WPH Wednesday Workouts focus on the areas that every handball player needs to reach their peak form.
On this WPH Wednesday Workout, we’ll discuss how to Cool Down.
You just completed a grueling match and you’ve got another match in 12 hours. What should you do? Eat pizza? Go out for ice cream? No! Cool down and refuel.
Sports Medicine Information HERE defines the Cool Down as a session of light exercise that follows demanding physical activity. This session includes gentle cardiovascular exercise.
In contrast to the warm up, which aims to increase the heart rate and muscles, the Cool Down is designed to gradually decrease the heart rate and relax the muscles, restoring the body to its original state. Light jogging, biking, and walking are ideal cool down exercises to bring the body temperature down and decrease the heart rate.
The Cool Down helps the body to dispose of waste products and toxins generated during exercise, namely the lactic acid that builds up in the body, which can cause stiffness and cramps the next day. The buildup of these toxic substances and lactic acid can cause blood pooling – blood pooling is when the blood that has been delivered to the muscles during contraction will build up if the cool down is not completed. Failing to cool down can also cause dizziness or light-headedness from the heart rate slowing down too quickly.
The best post-exercise meal is a carbohydrate-rich meal with fluids.
The Mayo Clinic HERE states that the Cool Down should be a five-minute continuation of your workout, but at a slower pace and reduced intensity. While many suggest stretching as part of the cool down, the Mayo Clinic states that studies have not shown that stretching helps prevent muscle soreness or injury.
VeryWellFit HERE states that the Cool Down slows breathing and improves relaxation. By cooling down, you are able to reflect on your workout and give yourself credit, promoting a sense of relaxation and boosting your motivation.
Cool Down Examples – Five Minutes at Low Intensity
- Stationary Bike
- Jump Rope
- Walking
- Light jogging
- Handball self-practice
- Hydrate and eat a carbohydrate-rich meal
Before rushing off the courts after a hard match, take five minutes to cool down, allowing your heart rate and breathing to return to normal, while eliminating lactic acid buildup and allowing you to relax. Don’t forget to hydrate and eat a carbohydrate-rich meal.
David Fink
WPH Fitness Director