Cooling down, much like warming up, is an essential part of any workout. The cool down segment of a workout allows your body, and mind, to transition from an exercising state (that is often quite stressful) to something more sedentary and relaxed.

Ideally, you’ll want to wind down your workout with less intensive exercises for about five minutes. For example, if you’ve been running, you’ll need to slow your pace down to a jog then walk. If you’ve been doing cardio kickboxing, march on the spot or step from side to side. Five minutes allows the temperature of the body and muscles as well as the heart rate to slowly decrease, which is better since a rapid decrease can shock the body. Circulating blood also slows down, allowing the muscles to eliminate waste products (i.e. lactic acid) that may have accumulated during the more intensive part of your workout and preventing blood from pooling in the legs (possibly leading to nausea and dizziness).

Once your heartbeat has slowed down and and you’ve cooled off, it’s time to stretch.

Research has found that the best time to improve flexibility and enhance your recovery is during this time. Skipping stretching regularly can reduce flexibility in under a month, so it’s absolutely imperative that it’s part of your cool down.

Our certified Personal Trainers know the importance of cooling down and stretching. They’ll help you perform exercises to adequately cool you down and improve flexibility.  You’ll also notice that you’ll be less stiff and sore the next day!

Canada’s Heart and Stroke Foundation recommends adults aged 18 and over get 30 – 60 minutes of physical activity almost every day – only about half an hour for vigorous activity and an hour for lighter activity. Doing so can improve and maintain your health as well as reduce your risk of suffering from several diseases that have been scientifically proven to result from a sedentary lifestyle (not to mention a shorter lifespan).

So what does “lighter” and “vigorous” activity mean?

Here’s a chart that shows some examples of possible activities that fit the description:

Light Activities (an hour)
Walking at a leisurely pace
Low intensity gardening
Gentle stretching
Bowling

More Intensive Activities (around 45 minutes)
Brisk walking or hiking
Riding a bike
Raking leaves
Dancing

Vigorous activities (about half an hour). You should be breathing hard, sweating and your heart rate should be accelerated.
Spinning
Kickboxing and marital arts
Jogging and running
Fast swimming

Obviously, though, it really depends on how much effort you put in to each exercise. Dancing can be vigorous if you go at it hard, and spinning can be less vigorous if you’re slowly pedaling. The Public Health Agency of Canada also recommends that you work on flexibility, strength and endurance on most days of the week to achieve the most health benefits.

However, these guidelines are the bare minimum. If you want to really increase your strength, endurance or lose weight and keep it off, you’ll have to bump up your exercise regimen.

You’ll far exceed the guidelines if you sign up for private or group sessions with one of our Personal Trainers in Toronto – even the free trial class can help you!

The sun’s shining and it’s gorgeous, so it’s no wonder many of us, including personal trainers, are taking advantage of the summer weather by exercising outside. But beware: the heat can be a killer. Seriously.

The main cause of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (aka sun stroke) is insufficient fluid intake while working out or performing strenuous physical activity. Fluid intake is essential to assist in healthy bodily functions as well as produce sweat, which helps cool down the body. However, if you don’t drink enough, the body will use liquids to satisfy bodily function requirements first – which is the problem. Since you won’t sweat, your body won’t be able to cool down, allowing the core temperature to rise to a level that could kill your cells, damage your brain and cause serious health problems.

Heat exhaustion is a sign that your body is unsuccessfully cooling itself down. You’ll look pale and feel clammy. You’ll also most likely feel faint, nauseous, weak, lightheaded and have a headache. Muscle cramps may develop, and you’ll be sweating profusely. To treat heat exhaustion, all you have to do is cool yourself down. Remove clothing, move to a cooler area, and drink some water or something with electrolytes and a bit of sugar (e.g. Gatorade). Don’t gulp – just drink a bit at a time.

If you’re breathing is shallow and you’re not sweating, have a headache, rapid pulse, hot red skin, and are acting strangely, then you’ve got heat stroke. Heat stroke is far more serious because your insides are basically “cooking” due to the rising core temperature. Needless to say, this requires immediate medical attention. Move to a shady spot, wrap yourself up in cool, wet towels, drink water or a sports drink, and get medical treatment from a professional.

Beat the heat by drinking plenty of water before you even think about working out. It’s a good habit, especially for the summer. Health Canada recommends drinking 2 to 5 cups of water at least 3 hours before you workout, and about a cup every 20 minutes while working out. Wear clothing suitable for hot weather, sticking to loose fitting items that are light in colour.

And because humidity makes it harder for the body to cool itself down, since sweat won’t evaporate as easily, you may want to consider moving your workout indoors or waiting until the humidity isn’t so high.

You’re committed to getting fit, so you throw yourself into an exercise regimen that’ll improve your strength and endurance, hoping that it’ll help you lose the flab and get toned.

Such enthusiasm is fantastic, but our Personal Trainers have found that sometimes too much enthusiasm can be a bad thing, especially for people who want to fast track their way to improved fitness.

If you want to prevent injury, remember to do the following:

Before and after every exercise session, warm up. This involves gentle stretching and something to get the blood pumping a bit faster prior to the session and more intense stretching and a cool down afterward.

Drink a glass of water before you work out and drink more at intervals throughout (some experts believe about 2 ounces every 15 minutes is ideal).

If you’re just starting your exercise program, start off easy and increase intensity gradually. To keep things challenging, aim to do a couple of more reps or a heavier weight every week, or increase the length or intensity of your cardio segment.

Don’t workout on an empty or full stomach. Have a banana or something light (preferably rich in protein) in you haven’t eaten, or wait at least 2 hours if you have.

Your body needs time to heal after strength training, and this can take one day or more. Weightlifting can only effectively tone and build muscle if you allow your body to repair the targeted muscles, and this can only be optimally done when you’re not using them and resting. Many people find strength training every other day achieves the best results. On those off days, try doing something else like cardio.

Pay attention to your body. If you feel pain while you’re doing an exercise, stop and adjust your position. If that doesn’t help, tell your Personal Trainer about it or skip the exercise and do something else. This is incredibly important since ignoring pain can cause damage to your body, particularly your joints. Stop exercising if you feel dizzy or have pain in the chest, neck, shoulder or arm. This may be indication of a more serious health problem.