Optimal Time Needed For Cooling After Sports

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JAKARTA - Cooling after essential exercise is done to prevent injury, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Plus, cooling can really improve someone's next training session.

Whenever someone exercises, it causes micro rips in the muscles that are repaired by the body with stronger muscle tissue. However, this process is often accompanied by delayed muscle aches. However, by pumping more blood into the muscles, correct cooling can help prevent muscle aches the day after heavy exercise, helping the body recover for the next exercise.

Tightening after exercise can also help prevent injury. After training, the muscles become warm and flexible, making this the right time to stretch and increase flexibility.

Consistent post-training stretch can help increase the range of motion over time, increase mobility and movement patterns during actual exercise. In the long term, this is good for injury prevention.

Then how long should someone cool down? There is no ideal time, according to Pete McCall's expert, CSCS. According to him, the cooling time depends on how long and hard the exercise is.

"But usually, for four to six minutes it was right," he said as reported by ANTARA.

However, technically, the whole time the body needs to return to a relaxed state before training can be considered cooling. The more intense the exercise, the longer the cooling will be. While four to six minutes may be enough for some people, this may not even take long enough to stop sweat for others.

So, McCall suggests paying attention to heart rate and breathing. After cooling, the heart will feel stable and one should be able to have a conversation.

He also recommends massage itself as a good cooling method. After running or cycling, McCall likes to spend a few minutes walking casually to help lower her heart rate. Slowly walk easy to help control heart rate and keep muscles safe.