Whew!!.....

[Trim]

Hi Cathe, (or any of my good fitness buddies!)

Along with doing your videos, I occassionally take an advanced step class at my gym. My question is, I have noticed that our instructor doesn't seem to cool down enough!

At the very end of the step portion (which lasts about 50 minutes not including the warm up), she will slow down for a couple of minutes, then launch right into some strength moves, such as lunges, and some static stretches. I still haven't recovered from the hard part of the workout, and I'm standing there with my heart pounding and face bright red.

Can this be okay? Of course, I eventually cool down, but not until I'm driving home congratulating myself!

I did this yesterday and today have very "heavy" legs. I think I remember you saying this is a sign of a needed rest day, so I took one today.

What does everyone else think about this abrupt cool down? Is this typical?

Thanks much in advance

 

[jennfier]

Give me a cooldown!

Hi Trim! I don't go out to gyms & workout except once in a blue moon, but Cathe is one of my favorite instuctors, because she always does a thorough cooldown & stretch at the end of her workouts. Also, many times when I'm picking videos, if I can't decide on a few videos, whether or not one has a complete cooldown & stretch is one of my criteria for chosing "just one" out of the bunch. When a tape doesn't have a long enough cooldown for me, I will stop the tape & cooldown on my own for a few more minutes. I guess at a live class this can be difficult... Maybe Cathe or someone who exercises at a gym regularly could offer some suggestions. I guess you could continue to cooldown after the instructor has moved on to strength training. I think that you should at the very least stretch some more on your own after the class is over. I guess the instructor is trying to pack as much workout in as he/she can, but I think they should still cool you down thoroughly! I don't know if somehow you could enlighten them or something? Good Luck!

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Cool Down

Hi Trim! If your heart is still pounding in your chest after your cooldown, you definitely should cool down longer. If you feel uncomfortable standing off to the side continuing on with a little longer cool down on your own, simply step out and walk around in the gym for a few extra minutes. Then you can grab some sips of water, and return and join in with the class. Perhaps you could even share how you feel after the cardio cool down with the instructor. She may not only offer you advice on what you can do but she will atleast also be aware of this fact and perhaps extend the class cool down a bit for the good of all. Good Luck!