Importance of the cool down (ft. Coach Tico)

  July 28, 2017

Warm-ups are used to progressively prepare the body for activity, whereas a cool works in the opposite direction. The purpose of cooling down at the end of a WOD is to bring the body back down to a pre-exercise state. I’m sure a lot of you know this but how many of us (yes I include myself) actually do it?

Our classes last an hour and sometimes because of different circumstances it is hard to complete all the work we have programmed for you. It’s our job to get you out of there in an hour but is your responsibility to take care of your body because in the end it only speaks to you and not the coaches. With that been said, every single one of us (coaches) promote a cool down with a different name perhaps. We encourage you to do any type of mobility or a light jog/row/bike  before you leave the box but usually one a small amount of the class actually does this 🙂

I’m sure more than 75% of our athletes have seen the Crossfit Games or Regionals. Every single workout that they do is mind blowing but right after they get done, they spend at least 5 min on the assault bike or row just to bring the body back to a normal state. These are the benefits of it:

• Reduction of blood and muscle lactate (feeling sore)
• Prevention of blood pooling
• Increase flexibility
• Promotion of venous blood return, which positively affects cardiac output.
• Reduce risk of cardiac irregularities.

The main aim of a cool down is to promote recovery and return the body to its pre-workout state.  This is also a perfect time to work on our range of motion since our big muscle groups are warm. Add some fluids while you do it since water is vital for our body to function and try to eat within the next 60 minutes after you leave the box.

Committed To Your Success,

Coach Tico