Cooling Down
Just like the warm up, the cool down is something else that many feel that they should skip. However, this can be problematic as it allows you to bring your heart rate down and improve your range of motion and allow for a better recovery from injury. After all, the best time to work out tight areas is when your muscles are warm. As mentioned above, foam rolling can have benefits and so can more dynamic, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching. When stretching statically, one holds their stretch in the same position for 15 to 30 seconds.
This is contrast to PNF stretches in which one contracts the muscle and then follows with a static stretch. Essentially you are never in one position for too long PNF. When you first start stretching, try and pay attention to how it makes you feel and what you feel you would like to change. Ensure to cool down for at least five minutes.
