Thread: Spinoff:Cool downs

I generally don't do much of a warm-up, just gradually increase exercise level - but I am disturbed by REALLY punishing dvds that don't do cool down. Just bought Kaya and Sadie Pops, Locks and Shimmies and despite promising a cool down on the back of dvd there doesn't appear to be one. This is intensive work and I would have welcomed something on stretching out the muscles used. Anyone know where I can get easy info on stretches for specific parts of body, or can anyone recommmend good cool down. What do you do in class?

Aziza's Practice Companion has a fairly comprehensive and extended cool-down section. I think that, broadly speaking, those instructional DVDs that focus on a very specific dance technique tend not to feature quite so much of a warm up or a cool down section. Many of them focus on warming up a specific part of the body (arms for example), but aside from that, they expect you to be experienced enough to know what and how to warm up and cool down.

The DVD's that are oriented toward a more general home practice tend to cover both warm-ups and cool downs in more depth. Personally, sometimes I swap DVD's in and out of the machine so that I can combine warm-ups/cool-downs from one with the technique-specific instruction of another.

As for cool downs generally, in class my teacher does a generic one for the beginners class that is more static and stretchy/flexy than the warm up. We usually do some gentle deep breathing combined with raising and lowering arms, there is usually the standing-up variation of the yoga cat stretch where you flex the spine gently (sorry I'm not describing that very well), usually some big gentle hip circles, an oblique stretch and a calf stretch. They are all very low key.

When it comes to those of us who have been knocking around for longer, we are encouraged to do our own cool-downs under supervision. What I do personally is probably not the ideal practice, but I tend to feel the need to do some kind of torso twists, and I always do a few gentle stretches for my poor old shoulders which are just phenomenally stiff and need all the help they can get.

My biggest tip about cooling down is that I always wrap up warm after I've finished so that my body doesn't get cold and stiff. I'm amazed that people who strip off left right and centre in a warm up don't put it all back on at the end again, especially considering that dance practice spaces in the Uk tend to be *drafty* to say the least - this is something that I have inherited from mountain walking and outdoor exercise though, not dancing.

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I take the time of a slow song to stretch. I have a fixed routine that everybody gets to know as the classes go. That way they can relax without stressing about what's to come next. Apart from avoiding sore muscles the day after, I think it's important to allow for some winding down, so they don't run out over-excited.

After a really good workout class you do need to Cool Down, for a variety of physiological reasons.

There are two main elements to the Cool Down: Pulse Lowering and Stretching. The Cool Down should be exercise-specific, and should relate to what you have been doing in the preceding class.

Pulse lowering:
This part of the Cool Down requires you to keep moving, but to reduce the intensity of the moves you are doing, and to slow them down. Walking, or routine dance moves can be used. Start with larger, more energetic moves, and gradually reduce the size, speed and intensity of the actions, as the heart and breathing rates return to normal.

Stretching:
This should be done while the muscles are still warm from your exercise. Stretches should not be painful- take them to the point of tension, possibly mild discomfort, but certainly not pain.
Ideally you should hold a stretch for 15-30 seconds, for adults. Academic opinion is again divergent as to length of stretching time, but 20 seconds seems to be fairly common ground.
For children, the stretch should only be 7-10 seconds.
Focus on the main muscle groups that have been used in the dance class- Calves, Thighs, Hips, Back & shoulders, Torso & abdomen.

There are several good books on Stretching

The Anatomy of Stretching
By Brad Walker
ISBN: 978-1556435966

Stretching Anatomy
By Arnold G. Nelson, Jouko Kokkonen
ISBN: 978-0736059725

The Stark Reality of Stretching
By Steven D. Stark
ISBN: 978-0968360712

The Complete Guide to Stretching
By Christopher M Norris
ISBN: 978-0713683486

And I would second Khadiya's comment that you need to dress properly again after you've finished class. And also drink plenty of water to rehydrate your body.

In my classes our cool down is some improvised veilwork to slow music followed by stetching. My students seem to enjoy the format and I have yet to hear complaints about a lot of stiffness. :o)

just to clarify:

warm ups shouldn't have stretching in them. if you stretch a cold muscle your risk for injury is huge. you want to focus on getting your blood moving and lubricating your joints.

hadia's ultimate dvd set has a whole dvd devoted to warm ups and a whole dvd devoted to cool down and stretches. she even talks about what muscle or muscle groups the move works on.