So I get it, there’s three minutes left of the class what do you do? Stay to cool down? Or beat the queue to the showers and get a head start in the changing room? Life is busy and in a time pressured busy environment like London it really can feel like 3 minutes has a big impact on our day. Even as someone who is an avid cool down advocate there has still been days where I opt for the swift exit to get cracking with my day. However I try to make this the exception not the rule and I hope this blog post encourages you to do the same.
Those few moments at the end of class are still an integral part of the class structure itself and have a big impact on physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing and the overall aerobic curve of the session.
As a trainer but also a mental health professional I think it is often the case that when we think if the cool down we think of the physical impact – injury prevention, reduces build up of lactic acid, stretches out muscles, brings the heart rate down etc and whilst these cool down benefits are extremely important I would also like to highlight some of the mental benefits to the cool down. So lets look at a few.
Whilst exercise helps to lower stress hormones and research shows that exercise helps with overall stress management in the moment exercise spikes the bodies stress hormones. This is to create energy to assist the workout – to get us to take action, to get us to run fast, lift heavy, punch a bag, ride a bike etc. So although it is a healthy stress our body can not differentiate between a healthy and unhealthy stress. The difference is not physiological but it’s how we feel about the stressor. In which case if we rush out of the class we are still in a state of stress. We then run the risk of carrying that sense of stress and tension into our day. Although we might also be riding high on an endorphin boost and be in an uplifted mood the stress might still be held in our body. Taking a moment at the end of class to celebrate the workout lets the mind and body know that the stressor was a healthy one, that now we are safe and can let go of stored tension. We can come out of attack mode. Simply taking a moment to drop the shoulders, release the jaw and just acknowledge the workout can do a lot to de-stress the body and mind.
I think it is also important to note that when we stretch we have a stretch reflex that kicks in so that we don’t overstretch a muscle. If the body is still tense and in ‘attack mode’ then it will feel less safe to release and let go. Think of a car seatbelt. If the car seatbelt is yanked it will tighten and resist but if it’s done gently it will let go. I encourage people to think of that analogy when stretching. Rushing a cool down might save time but lose value. Taking a few deep breathes, acknowledging the workout and then stretching can help the overall quality of the stretch.
Living/working/training in London is a fast paced, high stress, stimulating and demanding place to be and whilst it can be fun and motivating I think it is also important to find pockets of time in and amongst all the chaos to download and reset. That three minutes during the cool down sandwiched between the high energy workout and getting on with the day is a magical moment to pause. Taking a moment to pause and destress can help us to continue our day from a more grounded, mindful position. Mindfulness has many benefits for our mental and physical wellbeing. This does not always need to be an hour of mindful meditation. Generally consistency over intensity is more impactful for long term benefit – these small mindful moments at the end of class add up! Also finding time to exercise and the classes we do at 1Rebel are not easy – allow yourself a couple of minutes to acknowledge that and give yourself credit before conquering the next thing on your to do list.
The cool down also teaches us how to bring our body out of a high tension state and the more we practice that in class the more we can take that outside of class. So next time your colleague has fired you up or you are starting the day feeling flustered you have more experience calming the body and mind, your body knows how to do it and so anything we are familiar with is a little easier to do when we need it.
Sometimes skipping the cool down is more out of habit and necessity. Next time you are able to stay to breathe and stretch but the changing room, your to do list, emails or whatever you have next after class is calling I invite you to think twice and remember that whilst the habit of leaving early might kick in have a think about the long term benefits of consistently cooling down – less injury (means we don’t need to take as many days off training overall yay!), less stress and tension stored in the body, mindfulness and more. It is also the days that we feel pressured to rush off or the moments we don’t want to chill that we might need it the most.
Hope to see you in class, and in the cool down soon.
