As the weather cools off, I am reminded of the lack of shelter from winds when leaving various exercise and sports venues. The trade off is definitely worth the return of winter sports seasons.
With this cooler weather, our own post-workout cool down routines become that much more important. A common question for physiotherapy patients at SPEAR, is ‘what does your warm up/warm down routine look like?’. As your physio we get every response, from a sheepish ‘I don’t really…’ to an itemised excel spreadsheet illustrating not only what the routines are, but how rigidly they are adhered to.
Anyone who doesn’t currently have a cool down routine, and wants a starting point to begin with, this is my usual advice: do it slowly. Very slowly. When finished your workout or training session, pull on a dry, fresh jumper, pair of joggers, and a warm pair of socks, possibly a scarf and beanie for the really cold days. Participate in the pitchside cool down, alongside your team or gym mates, but leave the bulk of it for later.
With jumper, joggers, and warm socks on, go home, shower (warm comfies back on after), eat, hydrate, walk the dog, attend to the kids’ evening routine etc, and then get into your stretching and mobility routine.
The mobility sequence should be individual to you – your body, that day’s workout, any previous injuries that affect you, even just how stressful that day was as a whole. Slowing down the physical cool down and delaying the mobility exercises can help improve their effects. As a bonus: a gentle stretching routine before bed can help improve sleep quality as well!
So, as the temperatures cool down and we head home from these various windy and exposed locations, keep physically warm and save your stretches for later on, when you’ve slowly and physically cooled down.
Happy autumn everyone, and remember, if your own stretches aren’t settling soreness the way they usually do, we’re always here to help. To make an appointment contact us on 01224 900102 or book online.
