Inspired by “If These Floors Could Talk” theme of Zumba, reaching it’s 25 years of community build-up, it reaches me and there is no other way to say, “it changed my life in more ways than one.”
Today, I decided to talk about “groans” I hear as soon as I say “Cooldown everybody!” to wrap up my dance classes. But knowing its key benefits will help you understand why it’s crucial.
Here is why we need to include a cooldown to any exercise routine:
- For heart regulation: Physical exercises keep our hearts healthy. A Zumba class is structured to reach certain intensities. Each hourly sessions establish these intensities gradually depending on an instructors’ program. Therefore, a time to regulate your heart slowly into normal rate is beneficial in the end to counter the level of intensity it went through. A cooldown does that for you. It prevents blood from pooling in your lower limbs which may cause light headedness or fainting if exercise stops abruptly.
- To remove waste material: A cooldown keeps blood circulating continuously yet lightly through the muscles, inducing active recovery. It gets rid of metabolic waste products that gets built up like lactic acid.
- To improve flexibility: It’s best to stretch warm muscles so a cooldown is a perfect way to lengthen these tissues to build up or restore a full range of motion.
- To reduce soreness : Low-intensity movement combined with gentle stretching decreases immobilizing stiffness. This delays muscle soreness as it relaxes following a gradual pace.
- To reduce soreness : Low-intensity movement combined with gentle stretching decreases immobilizing stiffness. This delays muscle soreness as it relaxes following a gradual pace.
- For mental relaxation: Physical exercise sets the nervous system to adapt to a “fight or flight” mode. You know this as a sympathetic response. A cooldown session helps to bring it back to a relaxed state allowing restorative health to take place.
If you have anything to add, please leave a comment below to encourage a healthy exchange of views. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Starting the month of October in pink in observance of the Breast Cancer Awareness month.
