Looking for advice: do you still exercise on days you feel sick?

dr_russky

Hi all,

I am fairly new to mfp although I've been on other weight loss programs before this one (weight watchers). I've been reading through the message boards and posts looking for advice on whether members hear generally work-out even on days that you're not feeling good. Now to clarify, I'm not talking about you have a fever and are puking your guts out. Think more like you have low energy, a head-ache, and some light-headedness. I've become a bit of an exercise junky and feel like I should woman up and push through. Thoughts?

My daily routine is: 10,000 steps and T25 by Shaun T.

Thanks for the advice,
Val

jemhh

Usually, yes. I do have times when I don't but they're rare. Truthfully today I'm feeling very down and just feel like wallowing in my misery so I'm taking a day off lifting. No big deal. It will be there tomorrow.

tbright1965

Yes. I did this morning. Probably did about 80 percent of what I would do if I was feeling fine.

born_of_fire74

I exercise unless I’m really sick but I will wimp out of CrossFit on weekday mornings when I didn’t get enough sleep the night before. I need at least 7 good hours or I’m miserable for the entire day and my work really suffers. It’s just not worth it to force myself to get up to go to CrossFit if I’m not feeling rested enough. I miss a day or two each month due to lack of sleep. My dog always gets her walks no matter what though. If she doesn’t, she’s miserable and makes me miserable in return so I do ~12k steps regardless of how I’m feeling LOL

Are you getting enough rest?

Courtscan2

Yep, unless I have a fever. The sniffles can even be improved by a good workout. Be guided by your headache however, if it makes your headache worse then I wouldn't push through. I'd take headache tablets before starting, personally.

divcara

It just depends. Most of the time I feel better if I get up and moving and get things flowing. But sometimes I have pushed through and halfway through a class or run I'm like this.... was a bad idea. Remember, exercise is a stress on the body. So if you are really sick, your body is trying to recover from the exercise and takes away resources that should be fighting the illness.

In general, I think it's good to try it and see what you feel like - but just take it light and easy, with the goal of keeping your body in motion. Maybe it's just not the day to go all out and tackle a personal record. It's not that you *can't* push through and do it, you probably can, it's just how much demand you want to put on your body. It's hard to hold back some days though! But it's okay.

If you need a rest day, take one. If you are fighting an illness, rest may be needed. But if it's just a low energy day, you may feel better if you just start. And then just go by how you feel.

TrishSeren

Depends, sometimes I do but mostly I don't. I may choose to just go for a walk instead of lifting for example.

DancingMoosie

I usually take a painkiller and try to push through, but often wonder if I'd get well faster if I just rested...

hikinggal11

I take a OTC painkiller and push through like dancingmoosie does, BUT if I was having a continuous headache, lightheadedness, fatigue, on a regular basis I would get my behind to the Dr.

robot_potato

I find that when I skip workouts, I have less energy overall and become lethargic. So I do my best not to skip.
I feel bad more often than I feel good, so unless I am bedbound, I stick to my routine.

mekelly

If it's just a mild cold or a headache I will exercise. Like others, I probably wouldn't work out as hard as I would if I was feeling well. A short walk outside when you're feeling ill can help bring your energy levels back up a bit.

Tallawah_

divcara wrote: »

It just depends. Most of the time I feel better if I get up and moving and get things flowing. But sometimes I have pushed through and halfway through a class or run I'm like this.... was a bad idea. Remember, exercise is a stress on the body. So if you are really sick, your body is trying to recover from the exercise and takes away resources that should be fighting the illness.

In general, I think it's good to try it and see what you feel like - but just take it light and easy, with the goal of keeping your body in motion. Maybe it's just not the day to go all out and tackle a personal record. It's not that you *can't* push through and do it, you probably can, it's just how much demand you want to put on your body. It's hard to hold back some days though! But it's okay.

If you need a rest day, take one. If you are fighting an illness, rest may be needed. But if it's just a low energy day, you may feel better if you just start. And then just go by how you feel.

This pretty much... I adopted a rule I came across that you ALWAYS start whatever session you have planned...if you still feel bad once you've started then stop but ALWAYS start. Ironically I've had some of my best sessions on days when I really didn't want to go the gym.

hipari

I might lighten it up. For example, if I was planning on a run, I might go for a walk. If it's a strength day, I might switch to just doing a couple of sets of light weights and hitting all muscle groups to get blood flowing and muscles moving. My headaches are usually related to either stiff neck/back muscles or poor air circulation (stuffy air), so going outside and getting those muscles loosened up usually helps with that. I also try to never skip a planned workout, but if I'm really not feeling it, I go in and allow myself to quit after 10 minutes if I'm still not feeling it. I have actually quit maybe 2 times in the past 3 years, usually I end up going at least half an hour.

Machka9

dr_russky wrote: »

Think more like you have low energy, a head-ache, and some light-headedness.

It depends.

I was feeling a little bit like that yesterday, with slight nausea.

I went for a 5K run and felt better after. Actually I started feeling better after about the first km, so I kept going.

But other days, I might only go for a short walk or light spin on my trainer.

shaf238

Unless it's something serious, yes I still go and workout. I find "sweating it out" helps me feel better.

Zoejohnse91

I tend to take meds and go anyway. I'm a grump if i miss a scheduled workout, I feel really defeated.

emmies_123

I have exercised through stiff muscles (usually legs/back), stuffiness, light headache, mild queasiness, etc. Every time I did not want to, but I told myself I could at least start and can quit any time if I made a mistake in judgement. To date I have not had to stop my exercise, and have actually come out of routine feeling better than I did when I went in.

GOT_Obsessed

I had a poor sleep last night but went to CrossFit this morning anyway. It was a bad idea. I was clumsy, bitchy, and weak. I think getting more rest and maybe going for a walk would have been better. Lesson learned.

pondee629

Depends on how sick you feel. Are you too sick to workout? Are you sick but not enough to stop you completely leaving a light workout? Do you feel badly but maybe will perk up after you've started? Do you just REALLY don't feel like working out today? This seems to be a question that only the questioner can answer. How could anyone else know if you're too sick to workout? Take your personal inventory and make your decision.

apullum

emmies_123 wrote: »

I have exercised through stiff muscles (usually legs/back), stuffiness, light headache, mild queasiness, etc. Every time I did not want to, but I told myself I could at least start and can quit any time if I made a mistake in judgement. To date I have not had to stop my exercise, and have actually come out of routine feeling better than I did when I went in.

Depending on what type of exercise you're doing and where you're doing it, it is not always possible to safely stop in the middle of a workout if you feel bad. I've made plenty of these sorts of mistakes, and that realization tends to hit when I'm a few miles from home and can't get back easily. The most memorable times came at mile 6 of an 8 mile run and mile 10 of a 12 mile run. In both cases, I had to drag myself about half a mile to a mile, until I got to a place where my husband could pick me up, and I wasn't sure I could make it that distance without passing out.

It depends very much on what your symptoms are and what sort of workout you're doing. Running is my primary exercise. Dizziness, lightheadedness, and fever for me mean no running. Muscle stiffness can sometimes be improved by working out, as long as you are able to tell the difference between injury and stiffness from lack of use. Mild sinus congestion and things like that probably aren't going to stop me from running, unless it would make breathing difficult. Mild stomach discomfort is probably fine, unless I feel that there's a real chance of losing my breakfast somewhere on the trail. Fatigue depends on what seems to be causing it: if I had a bout of insomnia with no other symptoms, then I'll probably run, but if I can't explain why I'm tired, that's a big clue that I'm getting sick and should probably stay home.

For lifting weights at home, I'm willing to work through a lot more symptoms because it is easy and safe for me to stop if I feel bad. I'm still not willing to lift a heavy chunk of metal over my head if I feel like I might pass out, though.

Over time, you develop a pretty good sense of what symptoms are safe to work through and what are not. It does take quite a while to figure this out. I would absolutely not take the "I've never regretted a workout" advice. I have regretted workouts. I have put myself in potentially unsafe situations because I thought I could handle it. Don't do that. Listen to your body and err on the side of caution.

hesn92

Typically I will still do weights but not running. Running seems too strenuous to do while I'm not feeling well. Of course it depends how I'm sick. If it's just a cold or something then I will still run. But if it's a sickness that causes me to feel tired and run-down then no.

carabev8

Listen to your body! Don’t push yourself too hard and do what you can until you feel better 💕

Muscle_for_Fitness

I tend to always work out on those days. Usually the workout actually helps me feel a lot better and increases my energy for the rest of the day.

dr_russky

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Since my workout is home based, I decided to start and see how I feel, like many of you suggested. Once I started I did modify some of the exercises, tempo, etc, based on my energy level. The important thing is that I did feel better afterwards.