Understand Stretch and Cool Down
By: Nicole Olson
Picture it… it is a beautiful morning at Camp La Jolla and you and your group hike purposefully to the track to start the morning off right with walk/jog. What you might not realize is that you have already started your warm up for the activity. Warming up, stretching and cooling down are all very important components of any sport or activity. But do you understand why it is so important to stretch? Or even more importantly why we stretch our muscles once they are warm? Have you ever wondered the purpose of cooling down? Here are some explanations to those questions and more.
A Good Warm Up
A good warm up is necessary to maximize performance in any activity. Warming up raises your body temperature, gets your blood moving which delivers more oxygen to your muscles giving them more energy to perform exercise. Warming up does not just prepare your body, but your mind as well. Think back to all those beautiful La Jolla mornings at the track for walk/jog. The walk to the track gets you warmed up so you are ready to stretch and give maximum effort once at the track. The walk to the track is a built in warm up (tricky, huh?)!
Types of Stretching
Static Stretching- This is the style of stretching that is the most common at Camp. This is a stretch held for 10-30 seconds
Ballistic Stretching- Sometimes referred to as ”bounce stretching”. This style of stretching is less recommended due to the possibility of injury due to pulling a muscle too far to fast.
Passive Stretching- Here muscles are stretched by the use of an outside force. Some examples of this would be partner stretching, towel stretching, or the use of gravity.
Active stretching- One muscle is stretched by contracting the opposing muscle. This includes flexing the muscles on the front of the shin to better stretch the calf muscles.
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)- One of the more popular methods of PNF stretching includes the contract-relax method. This is done by first contracting the muscle and then relaxing the muscle into a deeper stretch.
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Stretch only to the point of gentle tension, not to the point of pain.
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Hold all static stretches for a minimum of 10 seconds.
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Be sure to stretch only after your muscles have warmed up.
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Perform all stretching exercises on both sides of your body.
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Remember that your flexibility will increase over time with diligent stretching. Take it easy and don't force your body to stretch too far too soon.
Cooling Down
Ahhh… you have completed your workout and now it is time to relax and cool down. This portion of your workout is also vital to preventing injury. A good cool down will prevent blood from pooling in your limbs and will also prevent waste products, such as lactic acid from building up in your muscles. Cooling down by slowing your heart rate down slowly and stretching lightly after exercise will also prevent muscle cramping and stiffness. To cool down properly, lower the intensity of your exercise to allow your heart rate to start to recover. An example of this would be after a run, cool down with a light jog until your heart rate is under control. Follow with full body static stretching focusing on the muscle groups used during your workout.