By: Nicholas Hamakami
Cross
country is my passion. The joy that I find in running is unprecedented in most
other sports, and I love the competition that I find around me. My devotion to
cross country and track has motivated me to stay fit during the off-season. Every
runner wants to effectively train as often as possible, and Amby Burfoot’s
insight on warm ups and cool downs has allowed me to do just that. Although I
warm up before almost every workout, I often neglect and sometimes even
completely forget the cool down. According to Burfoot, “The key to a successful
cool down is simply to do it. Too many runners, in a rush to return to their
many responsibilities, skip the cool down” (Burfoot 69).
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| Cooling down with a quad stretch. |
After listening to the advice that Burfoot provided me, I decided to go out and try an effective cool down myself. Last Monday during winter practice (11/27), the team focused on speed, running repeated sprint intervals. The workout was difficult, and I felt like it was a good time to try something new. Following that workout, I decided to take some time off by myself to stretch my calves, quads, and other ligaments. Along with stretching, I went on a light cool down jog as well. Although I didn’t notice too much of a difference in the hours immediately following the workout, I felt considerably better the next day. The aches and pain that I get after every workout didn’t completely go away, but they were noticeably milder than on the days after I neglected a cool down.
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| Cooling down with a calf stretch. |
As
Burfoot said, a cool down's purpose is to help the body recover, regenerate, and
prepare for the next run (Burfoot 69). After personally feeling how effective a
good cool down could be, I’ll be sure to stretch after every run from now on. Now, as
the off-season continues, I must ask, what else can we all do to stay
in peak condition? Track season is coming up soon, and I want to be ready to
smoke the other schools. I will continue to train hard, and I hope my fellow
track runners will too!
Source: Burfoot, Amby. The Principles of Running: Practical Lessons from My First 100,000 Miles. Rodale, 2004.
Nicholas, your post was very informative! I never knew how effective cooling down after a workout would be. Likewise, I learned to enjoy running; it used to be the activity I dreaded the most in gym class. With many obligations to balance out, I am not running as much as I would use to. However, the next time I go out for a run, I will make sure that I not only warm up, but also cool down. Thank you so much for this post!
ReplyDeleteHey Brandon, thanks for the reply. Doing a cool down will definitely help you in the long run, since it can aid in you recovery. I'm glad you're still running, and I hope you have fun!
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