A Basic Program for All Runners: The Cool-Down Phase
Filed under: Essays — arlene @ 4:26 am
Object: relaxation and stretching.
This is the last, but equally important, step of the three- phase Run-Easy Method. It is the easiest to omit. But when runners skip the cool-down, they frequently get injured because they haven’t stretched and relaxed their muscles after a run. Inexperienced joggers tend to dash out of their homes, run, and dash back, heading straight for the refrigerator and a cold beer. The only thing I approve of is the cold beer.
Generally, the cool-down is the warm-up in reverse. After running, slowly jog and then walk for perhaps 5 minutes. Follow this by slow, rhythmic stretching exercises and relaxation. The purpose of the cool-down is to return the body to its pre- exercise level, insuring the return of the blood flow to the heart from the extremities, and preventing muscle tightness. It is also essential to get your heart rate slowed and returned to normal. All horses are walked after vigorous exercise for these same reasons. It makes horse sense for you to do the same.
Six to ten minutes after you stop running, check your heart rate. The pulse should be within 20 beats of the pre-exercise heart rate—approximately 100 or less. If your pulse is above this, continue a slow cooling off by walking easily and relaxing.
Next, pause. Repeat some of the exercises from the warm- up, in this order:
- Leg-up Stretch Relax. Slowly stretch those muscles so that they will be loose tomorrow.
- Standing Hamstring and Calf Muscle This is one of the most overlooked exercises after running. The muscles in the backs of your legs are tight from running; stretch them out. Don’t forget the Achilles’ tendon exercises; you’ll feel it tomorrow if you do.
- Backovers Stretch the muscles of your back. As you run, muscles along the backs of your legs and your spine are strengthened. They now need to be stretched and loosened.
- Sitting Stretch Pull slowly on these tightened muscles, and enjoy the chance to sit down.
- Leg Limbering.
- Shoulder Shrug This may be done standing or, if you prefer, on your back.
- Head Roll.
- Belly Breathing.
Every runner—beginner to advanced—should do these exercises while cooling down. The idea is to stretch your hard-working muscles, and to relax you and your body to avoid injury or stiffness.
On your back, flex your knees. Let one leg slide slowly for ward, and drop to the floor. Raise the leg 10 inches off the floor and tighten. Hold for 10 seconds. Drop it, relax, return the leg to its flexed position. Repeat with your other leg.
Now, push the small of your back into the floor. Hold for 10 seconds, then let go. Raise one arm high into the air, and tighten the fist. Hold for 10 seconds, then let it relax. Repeat with the other arm and fist.
Tighten the muscles in your face. Really make a contortion. Hold for 10 seconds, then relax.
Repeat the belly breathing exercises. Now, lie with your knees flexed, eyes closed. Allow your body to go limp. Think good, clean thoughts. Tell yourself that you feel very heavy, very loose. (I said clean thoughts!) Rest for 30 seconds to one minute.
Slowly, get up, rising to your hands, then knees, then one leg, then both legs but bent over, then slowly erect. Check your pulse. It should be within 20 beats of your pre-run exercise heart rate.
Now go have that beer (or orange juice). You’ve earned it.
As you begin the Run-Easy Method, here are some ground rules to keep in mind:
Once you start, keep at it. Take an hour every other day. Start with gentle exercises and move slowly into the full program.
Make your exercise hour “sacred” and free from interference. Pick the best time of day for you and stick to it. Never stop exercising or not begin because you are feeling too harried or too busy. That’s when you need exercise most.
Exercise one hour at a time. Build slowly and do not rush. Perform all exercises slowly, without jerking. Do not rushthrough them, but make the pattern and performance of exercises also relaxing. Vary your exercises. Try new running routes. Join a runner’s club.
Right now, you may feel that you cannot ever get into shape, or run five miles, or complete a marathon. You say you don’t have the discipline, or the time. Or, if you’re running a little already, you may feel you’ve gone as far (and as fast) as you can go. Maybe you’ve been piglike. Take heart from the following story:
Dr. Max Sanders, an exercise physiologist at the University of California, San Diego, is studying the value of exercise on the human heart. His laboratory animals are pigs, whose heart structure closely resembles that of humans. At first, Dr. Sanders used dogs. “But you take the average dog on the street,” he says, “and put him on a treadmill, and he can run for two straight hours at a reasonable rate. That’s far longer than any sedentary human—or pig—could do. When we started working with the pigs, they could run for only a few minutes at a time.”
Now, Dr. Sanders has half his pigs jogging, and half “just standing around all day, like most people.” The jogging pigs are divided into two groups: those who are healthy and those with heart damage. Already the jogging pigs are running 5 miles a day. And, Dr. Sanders notes, a well-conditioned pig can run amile in less than eight minutes.
The way I figure it, if a hog can get into shape, anybodycan.
