Being Sick & Working Out

reality7001

I read an article from the Mayo clinic that says if you have symptoms below the neck you should not do cardio. I always include weights and cardio, but I haven't been back to the gym in 3 days since reading that... I have a cough that has turned into an infection. (Maybe I got it from the gym) 😟 I'm wondering if I should still do some weights at home while I recover or cut out everything all together? I always listen to my body and if I felt too weak to do weights I wouldn't consider it... I am pretty sure it's a viral infection. I don't have a fever or other symptoms just this lingering, annoying, cough.

Does your workout regimen change when you get sick?

Chieflrg

I think I've missed one day in training to being sick which is very rare.

General guidelines.

If your infectious, then don't go to a public gym.

Lowering the intensity while weight training might be an option which wouldn't be any different than when having a off day when feeling normal.

With cardio, my concerns would be if I could do it without a the symtoms getting worse and I felt energetic to complete.

Running2Fit

I don’t workout when I’m sick. I rest and focus on getting better. Missing a few days or even a week of workouts isn’t a big deal.

jemhh

I think the below the neck rule is vague. I'm not really sure what it even means as there's a lot below the neck so something like 90% of even the mildest issues would be keeping people out of the gym.

I lift at home. If I'm sick enough that I've stayed home and resting all day, I'll take a day off. For the most part I don't get sick like that so I still exercise.

Duck_Puddle

I don’t workout when I’m sick. That’s “sick” though vs sniffles/headache/annoyance that just makes me feel not my best.

My coach’s approach (which is mine by default) is that if I’m sick, I can continue to do low-grade, lower-quality workouts while I’m feeling ill and continue to fight being ill for much longer than necessary. Or I can take an extra day or two to rest and recover and be done with it. A day or two is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but fatigue/substandard workouts for a long, drawn out period of time are. We don’t look at above/below the neck. We look at how I feel and whether or not a workout today is more likely to be a benefit or something to hinder faster recovery from whatever is ailing me.

I don’t get sick often though.

And if you’re sick-don’t go spread your germs in public (aka the gym).