Exercising-When-Sick

I can pretty much sum up my opinion on exercising whe n sick in three words: don’t do it.  OK, I’ll admit it’s a little more complicated than that.  Not to go all philosophical on you, but what does it mean to be sick?  If you’re not sure if you should exercise when sick, what can you do to help make a decision on whether you’re capable of performing your routine?

My Recent Experience

A little over a week ago, I came down with what has probably been the worst cough and cold of my life.  That’s what I get for trying to take care of my wife and son while they were sick.  The day I took care of them, I had all intentions of exercising.  However, when I finally had free time, my body just didn’t feel right.  I decided I’d rather be safe and wait another day to see if more symptoms developed.  More certainly did…by the time it was done I was violently coughing and sneezing, had serious muscle pain, both ears infected, and uncontrollable asthma symptoms.  What a fun week it’s been!

Exercise When Sick

So in my case it was pretty obvious that I shouldn’t exercise.  I probably would have ended up on the floor waiting for an ambulance to arrive.  You should always consider what might happen if you exercise when sick.  For example, with a bad cough and cold, imagine if I had coughed while performing bench press?  That’s a serious neck or chest injury waiting to happen.  What if I was doing squats and sneezed?  There goes my back.  Even with a good spotter, that potential exists since a coughing or sneezing attack can come on completely undetected.  Maybe I should have just avoided weights then?  Well, if I tried to perform HIIT, my asthma symptoms could have kicked in and I’d be crawling upstairs looking for a rescue inhaler.  If I had a fever, exercising could have raised my body temperature even higher making me even sicker.  I’m also of the opinion that your immune system needs all the energy it can get to ward off sickness so why fatigue your body by exercising when sick?

Are You Sick?

Here’s the problem.  There are obvious sicknesses like the flu, and then there are minor runny noses.  If you never exercised just because you had a runny nose, you might go the whole winter without doing anything.  That’s not the intention here.  Don’t use minor sickness symptoms as an excuse to stop exercising.  Conversely, don’t try to exercise and risk injury despite displaying obvious symptoms of sickness.

The Neck Check

The idea behind the neck check is that if you have symptoms above the neck, it may be ok to exercise.  If you have symptoms below the neck, you should avoid exercise.  Symptoms above the neck would include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, or headache.  Sure, you might want to take some over-the-counter medication for these symptoms, but if they don’t feel severe, you can still exercise.  Maybe you tone done the intensity if you’re not feeling 100%.  Symptoms below the neck would include sore muscles, chest congestion, fever, coughing, or overall fatigue, then it may be best to put off exercising until you feel better.

Exercising When Sick

Some people never want to take a day off.  Others are looking for any excuse they get to take a day off.  If you’re on the fence about exercising when sick, then try the neck check.  Hopefully the symptoms go away in a few days and you can get right back to work.  Even if you have to take a week off, it’s not the end of the world.  Sure, there’s a risk that you’ll lose some muscle mass or gain some weight, but your health may be dependent on getting some risk.  Make up for it by working extra hard once you get back in the gym.

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