To understand why cool down are so important, we first have to understand how the brain manages resources in the body. Our nervous system is either in the fight or flight state (sympathetic), or rest and digest state (parasympathetic).
When we are in a fight or flight state, stress hormones are released into our bloodstream, our blood pressure increases, and our brain works to mobilize our energy stores. While a workout might not seem the same as fighting a sabertooth tiger, that stress response the body goes through is the same, and it helps us perform during that workout.
When we are in a rest a digest state, THEN the body can devote energy to rebuilding tissue, making us leaner and stronger. The problem is that many of us are in fight or flight far too much. If you’re pissed off about work, traffic, or something someone said on social media your body has the same stress response as if you’re fighting a sabertooth, and consequently we’re not putting resources towards rebuilding lean tissue, we’re getting ready to face a threat.
So the sooner we can get people back to rest and digest, the better their gains are going to be from their training!
Breath-work is the best way to make this happen, and there are lots of different patterns you can use. What’s going to be uniform about almost all those patterns is an emphasis on diaphragmatic (belly) breathing, and slowing down the cadence of the breath. We like to emphasize a long inhale (at least 4-5s and consciously making the exhale even longer 5-6s).
This also works really well with stretching, provided the stretching is non painful!