She Strengthens

The Secret to a Faster Recovery: Mastering the Art of Cooling Down

When it comes to working out, it’s easy to overlook the importance of cooling down. After all, you’ve just crushed a tough session and all you want to do is collapse on the couch. But neglecting your cool-down can have serious consequences for your body.

The Benefits of a Proper Cool-Down

Cooling down isn’t just about stretching your muscles; it’s about helping your body recover from the intense physical activity you’ve just put it through. According to certified trainer and founder of TS Fitness, Noam Tamir, “Mobility exercises during cool-down keep the blood circulating and prevent it from pooling, which can cause dizziness or fainting.” This increased blood flow also helps to reduce muscle soreness and prepare your body for the next day’s workout.

A 6-Minute Cool-Down Routine to Transform Your Recovery

Tamir has shared six do-anywhere exercises that target the most common tight spots and help your body reset after a workout. By incorporating these moves into your routine, you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel the next day.

Exercise 1: All-Fours Rock Back

Start on all fours, engaging your core and pressing into your hands to slowly send your hips back toward your heels. This move helps realign your spine, engage your pelvic floor and core, and increase hip mobility.

Exercise 2: Child’s Pose With Reach

Begin on all fours, then send your hips back to shift your butt to your heels and rest your chest on your thighs. Extend your arms straight out and slowly walk your hands to one side, then the other. This pose releases tension in your low back, stretches your hips, quads, and ankles, and reduces stress and fatigue.

Exercise 3: T-Spine Foam Roll

Lie faceup on a mat with your knees bent and place a foam roller across the middle of your back. Use your legs to pull your hips forward, allowing the roller to travel up to your shoulders, then use your abs to crunch up as the roller moves back to the starting position. This exercise massages your back muscles, increases thoracic spine mobility, and gently stretches your chest muscles.

Exercise 4: Hip Flexor Foam Roll

Place a foam roller on the mat and position your hips over it in a high plank position. Turn to one side to lower your hip down onto the roller, keeping your legs wide for balance and using your arms for support and control. Rock back and forth over your hip flexors as slowly as is comfortable.

Exercise 5: 90-90 Stretch

Sit on a mat with one leg in front of you and the other leg out to the side, creating 90-degree bends in both knees and ankles. Bend at the waist and stretch your arms as far forward as is comfortable, feeling the stretch in your hips and hamstrings.

Exercise 6: Neck Stretch

Sit or kneel in a comfortable position and take one arm overhead, placing your fingertips on the opposite side of your head. Gently pull your head toward your shoulder, feeling a stretch along the side of your neck. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, then return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

By incorporating these six exercises into your cool-down routine, you’ll be amazed at how much faster you recover and how much better you feel the next day. So take the extra 6 minutes to give your body the TLC it deserves – your muscles will thank you!