cool down exercises.

[crowdpleeser]

I need some good tips on cooling down my muscles after jogging, as they KILL the following day. Before I jog I stretch, and then after jogging I have a cold bath to lessen the muscle damage. Then I have a hot bath, and massage my muscles. but they still kill the following day. (By the way, when I say muscles I mean calf muscles).

[mikewith]

I'm no expert (witness how slow my finishing time was) but having completed the London Marathon many moons ago, I made sure I did all my regular pre-running stretches -- including calves -- and didn't suffer any muscle pain at all thereafter.

[comloulou]

Now Im generally considered to be a fat b'stard but when I started going to the gym I was told quite specifically that it was essential to warm up slowly and then slow down after cardiovascular exercise and always do the 2 min warm down the machine has programmed in. Try some stretches and some walking.

[bluedolphin]

warm up and stretch both before and after your jogging sessions and perhaps wear an extra thick soled sports sock to increase shock absorption. How long have you been jogging, are you jogging on concrete, how old are your shoes....some of these might be factors to consider.

[darth vader]

walking, until you are breathing normally again and have stopped sweating (usually at least 5-10 minutes) the gentle exercise of walking will "bring you down" from the exercise of jogging, and will also act as the warm down to prevent muscle damage. Works every time for me. Also don't forget (very important to prevent muscle damage, cramps, dehydration) to drink plenty of water, but steadily - take a litre bottle as you walk and sip it (you should be taking water on board BEFORE going for a jog too - at least 1 hour before)

shock impact (bluedolphin) would affect shin splints, joints etc but unlikely to be the cause of muscular damage and i would say more likely to be lack of water, or not warming down properly (or could even be lack of regularity in training! - but it sounds like you go jogging regularly crowdpleeser?)

[gazzawazza]

Golden rule... Never stretch cold muscles. Always warm the muscles up with gentle jogging, then before your run stretch each muscle group for 20 seconds. For calf muscles a good one is to lean against a wall with one leg outstretched backwards. The outstretched leg should be as straight as possible but the heel will come off the floor.

After the run (and after walking for 5 minutes) stretch all the muscle groups for 25-30 seconds. As Darth suggested, take on water prior to exercise. This is how I was taught on a PTI course. You can also stretch gently next day to alleviate pain.

[d+dwidow]

One particularly good way of stopping your calf muscles from really hurting is the yoga posture downward dog. It streches out the backs of your calves and if you slowly try and push your heels to the floor, you can get a better stretch and it shouldn't hurt so much.