CONCLUSION

In conclusion, warm-up and cool-down protocols are essential to short-term exercise

performance, as well as long-term injury prevention and general physical health. The warm-up
and cool-down sequences are as important to athletic performance as the athlete's abilities in the
sport itself. While each is a part of the exercise and training continuum, different principles are at
play in these training phases.

A warm-up is intended to ready the athlete for either a training session or a competition.
While a warm-up routine may take many forms, subject to the sport or the training goals of the
athlete, the warm-up will both physically and mentally prepare the athlete for the intended task.
The start of a warm-up is a signal to the body that exercise is about to commence, a form of
mental preparation. The warm-up also is a trigger to the neuromuscular system that the linkages
between the nervous system and various muscle groups will be utilized shortly. While a lack of
available training time and a desire to begin the substantive parts of the training or activity are
the most common reasons as to why some warm-ups are not thorough, numerous sports science
studies have confirmed that a thorough warm-up will reduce the rate of injury while increasing
overall athletic performance.

Cool-down phase is to gradually reduce the level of activity achieved by the body during
either training or competition. An effective cool-down program will gradually reduce the
person's heart rate to its normal level. Just as importantly, a proper cool-down will ready the
muscles for the next training session or activity. There is no conclusive scientific proof that
cooling down necessarily reduces a condition known as delayed onset muscle soreness. This
condition frequently occurs to athletes whose muscles have been subjected to a strenuous
workout, with the onset of muscle discomfort not present for between 24 to 48 hours after the
event. A simple and effective means of cooling down is to continue to exercise at a low intensity
level for approximately 10 minutes for every hour of vigorous exercise, immediately at the
conclusion of the primary exercise.