8 Best Cool Down Exercises For Any Type of Workout

If possible, avoid high-impact exercise such as running or jogging as part of your cool-down. Impact puts stress on your joints and tends to elevate your body instead of cooling it down.

2. Yogaplex



• Assume a push-up position. Place the balls of your hands and feet on the floor, shoulder-width apart, and keep your body straight from your heels to the crown of your head.
• Assume a downward dog position, keeping your back flat, arms and legs straight, and hips raised as high as possible. Take two deep breaths in a row.
• Step your right foot forward and place it on the floor just to the right of your right hand. The knees should be stacked over the ankles. If your hip mobility is limited, grab your leg with your hands and bring it forward.
• Straighten your left leg, lower your lower back into the floor as far as possible, and continue to take two deep breaths.
• Return to downward dog. Take two deep breaths in a row.
• Repeat the above sequence, this time stepping forward with your left foot and taking a deep breath in each position. Once you’ve completed the entire series on each side, return to a standing position and complete the entire yoga plex (on each side) for a total of 4-5 reps.

3. Lunges and twists

• From a push-up position, step your right foot forward and place it on the floor to the right of your right hand (your right knee should be near your right shoulder).
• Extend your left leg as straight as possible and keep it there throughout the movement. Contract your right buttock muscles.
• Reach your right hand under your body, as if trying to touch something on the floor near your left hip.
• Extend your right hand behind you and point your fingertips toward the ceiling. Pull your right shoulder blade back toward your spine.
• Repeat 10 times, then switch sides and repeat.

4. Static stretching

Static stretching involves gradually stretching a muscle and holding it for an extended period of time. Helps improve flexibility and cool down after training.

Hold any or all positions in the Yogaplex sequence (lunge, downward dog, forward bend) for 30 to 60 seconds. These movements can be some of the most effective cool-down exercises if you breathe fully, deepening the stretch with each exhale.

However, if you feel tightness in other muscle groups, such as your shoulders, take time to stretch that area of ​​your body.

5. Variations of the reverse hamstring and groin stretch

• Place the mat on the floor so that one of its edges touches the foot of the wall. Sit on your mat facing a wall.
• Lie on your back on your mat and raise your legs so that your calves, thighs, and back heels are pressed against the wall (it looks like you’re “sitting” against the wall with your back on the floor).
• Keeping your head, upper back, and sacrum in contact with the floor and your legs and butt against the wall, extend your knees and bend your legs as much as possible. (If you can’t keep your sacrum on the floor and your butt against the wall, move it a few inches away from the wall.)
• Hold for up to 3 minutes, then straddle your legs apart (as wide as possible) and repeat.

6. Walney Rock

• From the above position, slide back and place the soles of your feet against the wall with your knees and hips bent at 90 degrees.
• Slowly move your knees from side to side to stretch your lower back and hips. Continue moving slowly from side to side for up to 3 minutes.

• Lie down on your back in a quiet place and close your eyes.
• Focus on your breathing, never changing it, observing the rate and depth of each breath.
• With each exhale, relax deeply into the floor.
• If your mind wanders, refocus on your breathing.
• Continue for up to 10 minutes.

8. Egoskew Static Back Pullover

• Lie on your back with your legs elevated on a chair, couch, ottoman, or aerobic step. There should be a 90-degree angle between your lower back and your spine, and between your lower and upper legs.
• In a still, supine position, extend your arms in the center of your chest.
• Keep your elbows straight and lower your arms above your head so that the thumb side of your hand touches the floor.
• Reverse the movement and repeat for 2-3 sets of 20-30 reps.
• Once you have completed the pullover, remain in a static position on your back for an additional 5 to 7 minutes.

Why cool-down exercises are important

Cooling down may not burn many calories or build muscle, but that doesn’t mean you should stop cooling down. Let me introduce you to what an effective cool down is.

1. Provides oxygen to the body

Intense exercise increases the oxygen demand of your muscles. When you exercise, fresh, oxygen-rich blood flows into your muscles, carried by the force of your heartbeat. On the return journey, repeated pumping of the muscles pumps deoxygenated blood back to the heart and lungs.