Exercise- the importance of warming up and cooling down

If you are one of those people who practices any kind of sport or exercise, you will have realized that the quality of your performance has a lot to do with the warm-up you do before you start exercising and the cool-down once you have finished the session.

There is confusion and sometimes apathy in thinking that these two stages are not important, especially when one does not have much time and other pending activities in the daily routine. It is good to think about how much time you are going to dedicate to the exercise session, whether it is resistance training or cardiovascular training such as athletics, cycling or even yoga.

For Yoga, warming up is done through a sequence of postures that is repeated several times called Surya Namaskar A or B, or better known as the Sun Salutation.

For other types of exercises this sequence can be used, but there are also other ways and one that has been proven to be effective in preventing injuries is the FIFA 11+ program.

The FIFA 11 program is a quick warm-up involving shuffling, jumping and balance exercises that takes 10 minutes.

The FIFA 11+ program is a more extensive warm-up that includes sprints, high vertical jumps, squats, leg lifts and rotations.

In a comparative study involving footballers of both sexes and from adolescents to middle-aged people, the results of the FIFA 11+ programme were significantly superior in terms of 40% fewer knee, ankle, hamstring and hip injuries. Although the studies were conducted for football players, it was concluded that other practices such as basketball, athletics, tennis and sports that require rapid changes of direction can benefit from this type of warm-up.

FIFA 11+ Program

This program starts slowly and progresses systematically to 3 levels of difficulty or intensity. In total, there are 15 exercises listed below and the manual can be downloaded from the FIFA 11+ website and, if you are interested, you can review other studies carried out regarding the program. ( 1 )

The cooling

However, the way in which the training session ends is no less important.

On the one hand, studies have shown that ice baths after exercise are not as effective as gentle activity for relaxing trained muscles. ( 2 )

For my part, I started doing yoga poses years ago as part of the post-workout stretching recommended by my trainer. Eventually, it became a part of my physical routine.

So, after your workout, doing some stretches and walking home or to the bus stop can help a lot.

Benefits of Cryotherapy

Although cold baths were not as effective for post-exercise cooling, cryotherapy does have interesting benefits. Regular exposure to cold increases brown adipose tissue, which is dense in mitochondria and allows the body to burn fat more efficiently, especially if showers or immersions are taken for 50 or 60 second intervals for 15 minutes at temperatures that can range between 7 ℃ and 10 ℃. This also helps improve cold tolerance.

Likewise, when the body is exposed to cold, the production of norepinephrine in the brain increases, which helps improve concentration, attention, mood and reduce pain. Dr. Joseph Mercola suggests that you can double the production of norepinephrine by showering for 20 seconds at a temperature of 5 ℃ or for several minutes at a temperature of 13 ℃. ( 3 )

Although norepinephrine is best known as a neurotransmitter, it also acts as a hormone that causes vasoconstriction allowing the body to conserve heat and as a molecule that signals the body to produce more mitochondria in adipose tissue (remember that mitochondria are the main source of energy).

The body also produces a cold shock protein in the brain that responds to cold exposure. This protein is known as RNA-binding motif 3 (RNAm3), which is capable of regenerating synapses, i.e. connections between neurons. Studies in human cells have revealed that RBM3 can be activated by simply lowering the temperature by ½ degree ℃, suggesting that cryotherapy may have a neuroprotective effect.

Conclusion

As for warming up, depending on the time and exercise, sun salutations can be done (e.g. weightlifting, athletics, cycling and yoga). For sports such as basketball, volleyball and football, the FIFA 11+ sequence can be applied.

To cool down, it is good to stretch, take a gentle walk, and somehow stay active throughout the day, even if you work sitting at a desk (for this, try to stand up every 20 minutes and walk around).

However, it is not advisable to take cold showers after strength training, as this type of training causes the body to generate Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) that help increase muscle mass. Exposure to cold within the first hour after weight training suppresses the beneficial process. So on days when you do this type of training, it is best to avoid cold showers or ice baths for at least an hour after the workout, according to Dr. Rhonda Patrick. ( 4 )