• Weil Nutrition Corner
  • Meet Dr. Weil
  • Origins
  • Healthy Aging
  • Marketplace
  • Podcasts
  • Accessibility
  • Subscribe
Dr. Weil Logo Dr. Weil Logo Weil™ Andrew Weil, M.D.
  • Health & Wellness
    Health & Wellness
    Body, Mind & Spirit
    • Addiction
    • Allergy & Asthma
    • Autoimmune Disorders
    • Back Pain
    • Bone & Joint
    • Cancer
    • Colds & Flu
    • Dental & Oral
    • Diabetes
    • Disease & Disorders
    • Ears, Nose, & Throat
    • Feet
    • Gastrointestinal
    • Hair, Skin, & Nails
    • Headache
    • Heart
    • Insects & Parasites
    • Liver & Kidney
    • Mental Health
    • Pregnancy & Fertility
    • Respiratory
    • Sexual Health
    • Sleep Issues
    • Stress & Anxiety
    • Vision
    Balanced Living
    • Exercise & Fitness
    • Gardening
    • Healthy Home
    • Healthy Living
    • Meditation & Inspiration
    • Meet Dr. Weil
    • Pets & Pet Care
    • Technology
    • Wellness Therapies
    Health Centers
    • Aging Gracefully
    • Children
    • Condition Care Guide
    • Men
    • Women
  • Diet & Nutrition
    Diet & Nutrition
    Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Pyramid
    Cooking & Cookware
    Diets & Weight Loss
    Food Safety
    Nutrition
    Recipes
  • Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
    Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
    Herbs
    Supplements & Remedies
    Vitamins
  • Ask Dr. Weil
  • Blogs
    Blogs
    Bulletins
    Health Tips
    Spontaneous Happiness
  • Mushrooms
  • Sleep
Press "Enter" to search
Dr. Weil Logo Weil™ Andrew Weil, M.D.
  • Health & Wellness
    Health & Wellness
    Body, Mind & Spirit
    • Addiction
    • Allergy & Asthma
    • Autoimmune Disorders
    • Back Pain
    • Bone & Joint
    • Cancer
    • Colds & Flu
    • Dental & Oral
    • Diabetes
    • Disease & Disorders
    • Ears, Nose, & Throat
    • Feet
    • Gastrointestinal
    • Hair, Skin, & Nails
    • Headache
    • Heart
    • Insects & Parasites
    • Liver & Kidney
    • Mental Health
    • Pregnancy & Fertility
    • Respiratory
    • Sexual Health
    • Sleep Issues
    • Stress & Anxiety
    • Vision
    Balanced Living
    • Exercise & Fitness
    • Gardening
    • Healthy Home
    • Healthy Living
    • Meditation & Inspiration
    • Meet Dr. Weil
    • Pets & Pet Care
    • Technology
    • Wellness Therapies
    Health Centers
    • Aging Gracefully
    • Children
    • Condition Care Guide
    • Men
    • Women
  • Diet & Nutrition
    Diet & Nutrition
    Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Pyramid
    Cooking & Cookware
    Diets & Weight Loss
    Food Safety
    Nutrition
    Recipes
  • Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
    Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
    Herbs
    Supplements & Remedies
    Vitamins
  • Ask Dr. Weil
  • Blogs
    Blogs
    Bulletins
    Health Tips
    Spontaneous Happiness
  • Mushrooms
  • Sleep
  • Weil Nutrition Corner
  • Meet Dr. Weil
  • Origins
  • Healthy Aging
  • Marketplace
  • Podcasts
  • Accessibility
  1. Home
  2. Health & Wellness
  3. Balanced Living
  4. Exercise & Fitness

Cooling Down After Exercise?

Is a cool-down really necessary after a workout? I’ve heard that it is and that it isn’t. If it is, can you tell me what the purpose is?

Andrew Weil, M.D. | August 7, 2014

Close up woman walking on a path. Fitness concept.
2 min

“Cooling down” generally refers to a period of low-intensity exertion following a strenuous workout. It used to be recommended in order to help purge lactate from muscles in order to reduce or prevent soreness the next day. We now know that lactate has nothing to do with muscle soreness, so that rationale for an after-exercise cool-down no longer holds. In fact, a 2007 study showed that a half an hour’s backward walk on an inclined treadmill – an exercise that simulates walking downhill and is known to cause muscle soreness – left study participants who did a cool-down (walking uphill on an inclined treadmill) afterward just as sore two days later as participants in a control group. Those who reported the least muscle soreness were in a group that had done a 10-minute warm up (walking uphill on a treadmill) prior to walking backward downhill.

The current rationale for performing a cool-down concerns blood pooling. During an intense workout, blood vessels in the legs expand and blood can pool there if you stop exercising abruptly. This pooling can cause a sudden, unsafe drop in blood pressure, resulting in dizziness or fainting.

Dan Bornstein, assistant professor of exercise science, Department of Health, Exercise, and Sport Science, The Citadel, tells me that a proper cool-down can help prevent blood pooling. At a minimum, he says, it should include five to 10 minutes of light-intensity aerobic activity such as walking, slow jogging, or cycling, during which you gradually decrease the intensity of the exercise. Dr. Bornstein also says that your cool down could include a series of gentle static stretches if desired. These could include a quadriceps stretch, a hamstring/calf stretch, a chest and arm stretch and a neck, upper back, and shoulder stretch. You can find illustrations of these stretches online.

On its website, the American College of Sports Medicine notes that participants in studies of cool-downs involved athletes or active adults, while in the general population, “many apparently healthy adults may have heart disease, or other undiagnosed conditions which make an active cool-down beneficial. A cool-down can reduce the possible occurrence of lightheadedness, musculoskeletal issues, abnormal heart rhythms and cardiac arrest.”

If you’re new to exercise, a medical check-up is a good idea before you undertake a vigorous workout. And adopting a routine with a post-exercise cool-down is certainly worth considering.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

Sources:
R.Y. Law and R.D. Herbert, “Warm-up reduces delayed onset muscle soreness but cool-down does not: a randomised controlled trial” Australian Journal of physiotherapy, 2007;53(2):91-5.

American College of Sports Medicine blog, “Keeping Up with Cooling Down,” http://certification.acsm.org/blog/2013/april/keeping-up-with-cooling-down April 29, 2013, accessed June 20, 2014

Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging

Start Your 14-Day Free Trial

Free Newsletters

Stay Connected With Dr. Weil

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Follow Dr. Weil’s Food Pyramid

Get Dr Weils Newsletter Updates

Exclusive Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health Advice

Dr. Weil's FREE health living advice delivered to you!

By clicking "Subscribe," you agree to the DrWeil.com Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive emails from DrWeil.com, and you may opt out of DrWeil.com subscriptions at any time.

Trending Now

simple aerobic tips
Exercise & Fitness

13 Simple Aerobic Tips

hot bath better exercise
Exercise & Fitness

A Hot Bath For Better Exercise?

Young woman walking her don in a neighborhood with houses and trees in the background.
Exercise & Fitness

A Pill To Replace Exercise?

Close up of a men's quadruple skulls rowing team, seconds after the start of their race
Exercise & Fitness

A Watery Workout?

Dr. Weil Logo Weil™ Andrew Weil, M.D.
Dr. Weil's Signature

Exclusive Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health Advice

  • About Us
  • Press Information
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Information on this website is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. You should not use the information on this website for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication or other treatment. Any third party offering or advertising on this website does not constitute an endorsement by Andrew Weil, M.D. or Healthy Lifestyle Brands.

© Copyright 2025 Healthy Lifestyle Brands, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. www.drweil.com