Vagal Activity and Duration of Recovery Exercise

Sudden cardiac death in sports may occur not only during physical activity but also during recovery from exercise. An extended cool-down exercise or active recovery after exercise is widely believed to play important roles in protection against cardiac events and in removal of accumulation of metabolic wastes within the circulation and active muscular tissues. A large number of studies have shown that the removal of fatigue-related substances, such as lactic acid, produced during strenuous exercise is markedly enhanced in the circulation by light to moderate exercise during the period of recovery. Thus, cool-down exercise during recovery appears to provide a facilitatory effect on restoring cardiovascular and respiratory systems from the metabolic perturbations due to prior intense exercise.