Video:How to Do Cool Down and Conditioning Exercises

Transcript:How to Do Cool Down and Conditioning Exercises

My name is Army Sgt. Shane Medders, and I am stationed in Fort Knox Kentucky as a drill Sergeant, for About.com.

Exercises for the Army Physical Fitness Routine

Today I'll be showing you a couple of exercises for the army physical fitness routine. Everyday in the army, we start off the day by doing physical fitness, The conditioning is the main part of the exercise and the cool down consists of five stretches, and the stretching should be approximately ten minutes long.

Overhead Arm Pull

The first stretch is the overhead arm pull. The starting position is the straddle stance, feet positioned shoulder width apart with the hands on the hips. On the command stretch, you will raise your left arm, putting the left hand at the base of the neck. You will grab the left elbow with the right hand and you will pull slightly to the rear. This stretch is used to stretch the triceps muscle and also the lad muscles.

Rear Lunge

The next stretch is the rear lunge. The starting position is the straddle stance hand on the hips and feet shoulder width apart. On the command stretch you will take an exaggerated step back, this Is used to stretch out the calf muscle and the hamstring. This will be done on both legs.

Extended Flex

The next stretch is the extended flex. The starting position is the front lean rest position, as in the pushup. The first part of this stretch is lowering the body until it is resting on the ground and keeping the arms locked down so as to stretch the abdominal muscles. You want to make sure that you look straight up towards the sky. The second part of the stretch is done by placing your but straight up into the air. This is done to stretch the lower back muscles and the hamstrings.

Thigh Stretch

The next stretch is the thigh stretch. The starting position is the seated position with the feet together, leaning slightly to the rear and resting on the hands. On the command stretch, you will grab the left foot, placing the opposite foot on the front of the thigh pushing back towards the rear. This is used to stretch out the thigh muscles after a cardio respiratory exercise. This stretch is done on both legs.

Single Leg Over

The last stretch is the single leg over. The starting position for this is laying flat on the back the arms straight out to the sides and the feet together. On the command stretch you will begin to stretch with the left leg pulling to the side, making sure that you keep the opposite shoulder flat down on the ground. This is stretching the core muscles on the front of the body and the lower back. This stretch is done on both legs.

Conditioning Exercises

The conditioning part of the PT regimen depends on what day of the week it is. The days are split up evenly alternating between muscular strength days and cardio respiratory days. On muscular strength days, you mix the body up by doing pushups, situps, variations of pushup and situps, and also pull-ups. On the cardio days, you mix up cardio respiratory days by either sprint runs, cohesion runs, and also ability group runs, which depends on your ability of how fast you run. The thirties / sixties are primarily used to increase ones cardio respiratory endurance. It is done by sprinting for thirty seconds and walking for sixty seconds. What you are doing while walking is making sure you continue to breathe and taking long strides in order to maximize the stretch. And that's a few examples of the physical fitness routine.

Thanks for watching.