Cool Down Exercises

Don’t skip this beat by mistake

If you’re a regular at our website then you must have already read our previous article on warm up but in case you haven’t you can just hop on by and check out “Why Warm Up?” before continuing down to this article. In our previous article we dealt with why warming up our body was important and now we need to figure out why cooling it down is just as important. Just like warm ups precede our physically intense routines, like shooting sessions and workouts, we all need to cool down afterwards as well and this article will deal with this in detail.

Why do we need to cool down?

When we get done with our shooting sessions or workouts, most of us just get up and head home so that we can crawl into bed and just relax for a bit. In doing so we end up skipping a very important part of the process, cooling our extremely tensed and exhausted muscles down. Due to the stress and tension that is exerted on our bodies during a physically intense session our heart rate tends to increase along with our body temperature, which in turn dilates our blood vessels. All of this is essential while doing an activity but can be harmful and can result in muscle ache and dizziness which can subsequently, in extreme cases, result in you passing out. The best and most effective way of preventing this from happening is performing a selected set of cool down exercises that will speed up the process of returning your body back to its normal state.

What and How do we Cool Down?

Having determined the importance of cool down exercises let us move on to what are the different areas that are most affected during a shooting session and how we can efficiently cool them down.

Neck

Starting from the top, our neck is one of the most crucial areas that is strained while shooting and it is also one of the most overlooked. When we are shooting we have to constantly move our neck and there is also a lot of strain that is exerted on it which can lead to stiffness and pain that can travel to other parts of your body as well. There are 3 different types of exercises that you can do to cool down your neck area and prevent this from happening.

1. Neck Tilt – Tilting your head down, touch your chin to your chest and hold this position for 5 seconds. Repeat this exercise at least 5 times for effective results.
2. Side to Side Neck Tilt – While standing straight, tilt your head towards one shoulder, leading with your ear and hold this position for 5 seconds. Repeat this exercise for both sides, at least 5 times each for effective results.
3. Neck Turn – In an upright stance, look straight ahead and then slowly turn your head to one side, ensuring your cheek is at the same level throughout the exercise. Repeat this exercise for both sides, at least 5 times each for effective results.

Shoulders and Hands

Moving down, your shoulders and arms are one of the most active parts of your body and carry a lot of burden during a shooting session. Pistol shooters have a common complaint, pain in their dominant arm. To prevent your arms from tensing up and causing long term injuries the following exercises have to be performed on a regular basis: –

1. Finger Stretches – Extend one of your arms forward, perpendicular to your body, with your palms facing upwards or towards the ceiling. Then with your free hand gently press your fingers down towards the floor and continuing this motion pull them back towards your body. Hold this position for 10 seconds and repeat this exercise for both arms, at least 5 times each for effective results.
2. Wrist Rotation – While extending your arms forward, rotate your wrists both clockwise and anticlockwise. Repeat this motion equally in both directions to release the tension built up in your wrist region.
3. Upper Arm Stretch – Raise one hand over your head and bend your elbow so your forearm comes directly behind your head. Now that your elbow is bent, with your free hand push your elbow downwards to an extent suitable to you. This exercise will result in your upper arm being stretched and the muscles in this area will relax. Repeat this exercise for both arms equally for effective and equal results.

Back

Having effectively relaxed your arms and shoulders, we now move on to your back. The most common difficulty faced by rifle shooters is back pain due to the high pressure position they take during their shooting sessions. The extensive pressure built up has to be relieved to prevent permanent back problems and for general ease. The following are some exercises that can help with this: –

1. Backward Bend – In an upright and standing position place both your hands on your lower back to give it some support. Once this is done lean backwards slowly to an extent this is suitable to you. Make sure you do not overexert your back or fall down while trying to do this. By doing this exercise you are stretching your spine and back muscles which in turn relaxes them.
2. Side Bend – Place one of your hands (eg. right hand) straight down so it is parallel to the side of your (right) knee and in this position bend sideways in the same direction. This will result in the opposite side (i.e. left side) of your torso to stretch. This exercise will help relax the sides of your body and relieve the tension built up due to your shooting position. Repeat this exercise equally on both sides for effective results.

Legs

Standing for hours on end is a very important part of shooting and this can result in a lot of muscle stiffness and pain in your legs after practice. The following exercise can help prevent prolonged stiffness and pain: –

1. Knee to Chest Stretch – While standing straight, lift one of your legs up and bring that knee as close to the front of your chest as possible. Hold this position for as long as possible to achieve fruitful results.

Full Body
Having stretched all the different sections of your body individually you can end your cool down routine with a full body stretch in case you missed a spot. To do this you need to first stretch your arms above your head, intertwin your fingers if you want. Then, keeping your back and knees straight, bend forward and slowly move towards the floor. Extend as much as you can without bending your back or your knees to successfully complete this exercise. You can also stretch and move forward in small sections/intervals to prevent your back from bending or ask someone to assist you.

Once you start doing your cool down routine effectively and regularly you will understand the huge it has as it can bring comfort and improve your performance the next day. Not only will it relax your body but also relax your mind as you can utilize the time you allot to cool down to relax your mind as well. If your aim is to make it as an international shooter in the long run and prevent major injuries, missing this beat would be a mistake! Please let us know what you thought about our article down below in the comments section and do check out our other fitness related articles up on our page.