Last week on the Zim’s blog we talked about the importance of a good warm up as part of our exercise routine. Now this week we are going the other way and talking about how key cooldowns are to having a great athletic experience.

A cooldown is a series of exercises we do to help our body ease out of doing strenuous activities. They are important because they “lower your chance of injury, promote blood flow, and reduce stress to your heart and other muscles.”

If you think about what your body is experiencing it makes a lot of sense. You have been pushing your body beyond its natural state- that’s the whole point of exercise. So by dedicating 10 minutes of your workout to cooling down it allows your body to adjust back into its regular rhythms without too much shock to your system.

Some exercises recommended for a cooldown include: light jogging or walking, stretching, yoga, Pilates, deep breathing and more.

Cooling down time can also be helpful for our mental health. It gives us a few moments each day to meditate and connect with our bodies. This helps us reduce stress and be happier in all aspects of our lives.

If you are looking for some guidance on cooldown exercises there are tons of tutorials youtube and other platforms.

Sometimes a cooldown isn’t enough and we still experience muscle pain.  If this occurs a great way to find relief is the Zim’s line of pain relief products. Whether it be the gel, spray or liquid our family of products provide powerful pain relief that penetrates the skin and works quickly so you are back exercising before you know it.

What do you like to do for your cooldown? We’d love to hear in the comments section.