Warming down!

[3offTheTee]

Sure some of complete 2/3 warming up exercises but how many warm down, other than a few beers.

If so what exactly do you do?

 

[Bacardibatman]

only ever warm down on the practice ground/range

and its just working down from full > 3/4 > 1/2 swing

never do anything after a round unless i have a twinge or some tightness and might have a little stretch

 

[timgolfy]

Hitting the ball as far as I do can lead to back strain, so it pays to be careful. I've just hit 360 balls at the range. I warmed down by playing the last few dozen balls as gentle pitches, then some easy back stretches.

 

[User20205]

warm down?? it's not exactly a collision sport ( unless it's Homer playing with timgolfy)

I'm sure a couple of pints of Guinness will do the job!

 

[Yerman]

Get in the car and switch on the seat heater -bl##dy great for the back.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I tend to do more warming up than down. At the range I'll work from wedges up to the driver and then finish off with some half shots but I rarely do anything other than enjoy the banter after I've played a round. Arguably the best part of any round whether you've played well or not. Don't really get that at a range

 

[Adi2Dassler]

Warming down...I've heard it all now.ffs.

 

[SammmeBee]

Arguably the best part of any round whether you've played well or not. Don't really get that at a range

Just the range....??

 

[DCB]

Warming down...I've heard it all now.ffs.

+1

 

[Bacardibatman]

if im hitting a lot of balls my shoulder will be killing me (as ive previously dislocated it)

I'll need a little bit of an ease down or i'll be more sore than if i dont,and would struggle to put 2 days together, im not getting any younger you know

 

[Whereditgo]

Switch on the heated seat for the drive home if the back is stiff.

You've just had a 3 hour stroll, played about 40 full swings, a few gentle chips and 30 or so putts - hardly a marathon!

 

[kmdmr1]

If you are taking golf seriously,You should warm up correctly and warm down correctly,after playing golf your muscles contract and you should warm down and stretch your muscles back out..

 

[Mark_G]

360 balls? Blimey you have got stamina, I only do 100 at a time, is that your normal amount of balls?

 

[robbest3offthetee]

I think Tim is getting his Balls mixed up with his Yardages....

 

[surefire]

If you are taking golf seriously,You should warm up correctly and warm down correctly,after playing golf your muscles contract and you should warm down and stretch your muscles back out..

Can you back this up?

Cooling down is such as 'tradition' that it is taken as a given so there is not loads of research on the subject, but what there is, is actually quite interesting.

When it comes to sports such as running, there is the concept that during running blood vessels in the legs widen to allow more blood flow and if you stop suddenly the heart slows down quickly and blood pools in the legs. This only really applies to athletes who are so well trained they have a low heart rate and quick heart rate recovery time, as the average person would take longer to recover and so the blood would be pumped back before the heart has returned to resting pace. It also assumes you are doing nothing after the exercise, when really even walking to the changing room would be enough to stop this being a problem.
This also hardly applies to golf, unless you play speed golf!

There used to be the theory that cooling down helped remove lactic acid and so reduced muscle soreness, but we now know that lactic acid doesn't cause muscle soreness so this doesn't apply. In fact studies have been done with cyclists that showed not cooling down helped them, because the lactic acid build up restored glycogen in the muscle (fuel), where as cooling down used and so effectively wasted some of this fuel.

As for soreness and tightness, there is no research showing either of these are helped by cooling down. There have actually been some studies where two groups exercise and only one cools down, but the studies show no reduction in soreness from the cool down.

If you enjoy your cool down and it is part of your routine stick to it, but if you don't I wouldn't bother as it would seem it has no effect.

 

[Stephen_McMaster]

Who am I to comment on the research on lactic acid build up etc.

If you're involved in a cardio intensive activity then a gentle cooldown, e.g. walking around rather than collapsing to the floor, indicates to your heart that the activity is over and helps your heart rate to reduce (a little counter intuitive, I know).

I find stretching helps but this doesn't have to be immediately after activity - there's little point in stretching an already stretched muscle. Stretching in the evening or even the following morning is fine.

If I'm going to participate in sport the following day then I'll stretch in the evening as it's quicker and less painful than stretching the following day. You should always have warmed up before you stretch (elevated your heart rate) - walking briskly up stairs will do the job (not as good as 15 mins of gentle activity but then how many of us have the time)?

I also find the heated seat works wonders too (for the same reasons at a hot bath) and has the benefit of not taking any more time out of the day!