Every single day we are exposed to bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Your work desk, your vehicles, even your hand phone are germ jungles. The most common invaders are upper respiratory tract invaders or URTIโs, which hit you with colds, coughs, flu, sinusitis, tonsillitis, throat infections and middle-ear infections.
Indonesia is now entering the transition period from rainy season to dry season. If you donโt have good immunity, you can get cold or flu easily. When you have a cold or flu, should you โsweat it outโ with exercise or just stay at home and recover? When itโs okay to work out while youโre sick, and when you shouldnโt?
The general rule of thumb about whether to exercise when youโre sick is the โabove and below the neck checkโย – If you have symptoms above the neck, like coughing, sneezing, sore throat, or nasal congestion, you can probably still work out. If you have symptoms below the neck like chest congestion, aches, vomiting, or fever, itโs best to skip the exercise.
Although we would like to suggest that its best to exercise at home if you have a cold and NOT at the gym/fitness center, to avoid infecting other people.
Should you exercise while sick?
There is a difference between โworking outโ and โphysically moving the bodyโ. A structured workout routineโone which youโre breathing heavily, sweating, working hard and feeling some discomfortโawakens the stress response in the body. When youโre healthy, your bodies can easily adapt to that stress. But when youโre sick, the stress of a tough workout can be more than your immune system can handle.
So, during the first few days of sickness, low-intensity, low-heart-rate cardio are recommended. Walking, low-intensity biking, tai chi, jogging, and yoga shouldnโt hurt you (unless youโre severely out of shape). These activities arenโt intense enough to impose serious immune-compromising stress on the body. Theyโve even been shown to boost the bodyโs ability to fight illness. Still, if you feel like you need rest, donโt push yourself.
Prolonged vigorous exercise, on the other hand, can make us more susceptible to infection. For example, running a marathon can depress your adaptive immune system for up to 72 hours. So, it makes sense to avoid that when youโre sick.
Your strength and performance will likely be diminished while youโre battling a cold, and thus putting you at increased risk for injury while trying to lift heavy equipment. The muscle strain required to lift weights also can cause sinus pressure and headaches to feel even worse. If you still do not want to skip a strength workout, you can do it at home, where you wonโt be spreading germs and sharing your sickness with other weight lifters.
The key rule
If you do choose to exercise when youโre sick, regardless of what kind of exercise you choose, reduce the intensity and length of your workout. If you attempt to exercise at your normal intensity when you have more than a simple cold, you could risk more-serious injury or illness.
