Exercising while congested?

lizfiz50

I woke up with mild/moderate congestion. Had a bad day calorie-wise. Should I do a morning workout or skip today?

ruby_brewer

You will get better faster if you work out I was super sick a few weeks ago and still went to my kickboxing classes.........I was over being sick in just a few days versus the weeks it used to take me!

Sabine_Stroehm

I find working out makes me feel better (Unless I'm stuck in bed sick).

lizfiz50

Yeah, it's not bad right now anyways AND I can't afford to lose more sick days!!! Congrats on your 120 BTW!

fppalmer

Which sick is sick? And what workout is workout?

Your body has a wonderful ability to heal itself. If you are very sick, you're body eventually (usually) gets healthy, and if you have a really big lifting workout, you tear up your muscles and your body can heal / build your muscles up bigger and stronger than before.

But, it is hard for your body to BOTH heal itself from a bad illness AND repair itself from a heavy workout. Think of it like your body has a limited amount of recovery ability, that you spend on getting healthy or recovery.

So, if you have a sinus infection your body is trying to fight off AND you do a heavy weight workout, could delay how long you have the infection, or time needed to recover from your workout.

Allergy congestion? Likely safe to workout, and can help clear you up (many allergy medicines work simply as stimulants, which you do naturally with a workout.)

Is your workout more aerobic or even low impact calorie burning? No problem with the workout then. For example walking will burn calories, but, doesn't tear down your body requiring a lot of repair that would compete with the energy needed to recover from sickness.

The extreme example of this is if you are working out so much you are over training, you can increase the probability and time you are sick.

meskew87

The advice I have always heard is that if you have sickness from the chest up (i.e. cough, congestion, runny nose, headache, etc) that a gentle workout is good fo ryou body. However if you are sick below the chest (nausea, throwing up, diarrhea, etc) then you should stay home and rest.

cingle87

For me I fine even with a slight headcold that I give the exercising a miss till everything is all clear, one of my pet hates those at the gym are people who go to the gym ill and are coughing and sneezing everywhere not being considerate of other gym users, so for me if Im ill i stay away from the gym and if you are ill stay away from the gym

lizfiz50

Just a little congestion- went to the gym and did an excellent workout. Thanks guys!

Cait_Sidhe

I tend to wallow in self pity and baby myself when sick. Maybe that's just me though.

neandermagnon

I follow the above the neck rule

sick above the neck (sore throat, cold (without fever), mild headache, congested) = work out

sick below the neck (fever, chest infection/chesty cough, vomiting, diarrhoea) = don't work out

I follow the same rules regarding whether the kids go to school or not. It probably doesn't work in every circumstance, but as a general rule it's pretty good.

neandermagnon

I tend to wallow in self pity and baby myself when sick. Maybe that's just me though.

a little selff-pity in moderation is good for you :drinker:


also, it's what you do in your day to day life in normal circumstances that makes the difference, not special occasions or when your sick or stuff like that's going on. Skipping a workout when you're sick even if you maybe could have done it, isn't going to make or break you. Using the slightest hint of a sniffle or discomfort to skip a workout probably is, because that's likely to happen regularly.

davert123

Which sick is sick? And what workout is workout?

Your body has a wonderful ability to heal itself. If you are very sick, you're body eventually (usually) gets healthy, and if you have a really big lifting workout, you tear up your muscles and your body can heal / build your muscles up bigger and stronger than before.

But, it is hard for your body to BOTH heal itself from a bad illness AND repair itself from a heavy workout. Think of it like your body has a limited amount of recovery ability, that you spend on getting healthy or recovery.

So, if you have a sinus infection your body is trying to fight off AND you do a heavy weight workout, could delay how long you have the infection, or time needed to recover from your workout.

Allergy congestion? Likely safe to workout, and can help clear you up (many allergy medicines work simply as stimulants, which you do naturally with a workout.)

Is your workout more aerobic or even low impact calorie burning? No problem with the workout then. For example walking will burn calories, but, doesn't tear down your body requiring a lot of repair that would compete with the energy needed to recover from sickness.

The extreme example of this is if you are working out so much you are over training, you can increase the probability and time you are sick.

^^^Sounds good.

Also if you do aerobic exercise keep an eye on your heart rate. If it starts to race then slow down or even stop, if it stays normal then fill your boots

ElizabethFuller

I find that when I'm congested my nose and throat clear when I'm exercising! When I stop I get all stuffed up again...... But I can't keep running for ever!
I think you just have to do what feels right, if exercising exhausts you then you should stop, if not then go for it! Listen to your body :-)

Cait_Sidhe

I tend to wallow in self pity and baby myself when sick. Maybe that's just me though.

a little selff-pity in moderation is good for you :drinker:


also, it's what you do in your day to day life in normal circumstances that makes the difference, not special occasions or when your sick or stuff like that's going on. Skipping a workout when you're sick even if you maybe could have done it, isn't going to make or break you. Using the slightest hint of a sniffle or discomfort to skip a workout probably is, because that's likely to happen regularly.

You're absolutely right. I will force myself to work out when extremely tired after a busy 12 hour overnight shift (I joke that my superpower is that I'm supertired) and will go to the gym if sniffly, sore throat, etc (I'm always sure to disinfect what I touch though). I was more referring to the kind of head cold/flu where you feel dizzy from standing. In that case, I'm all about the self pity. I guess I don't consider minor discomfort/congestion to be even a consideration.