Being sick and exercising?

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DancingDreamer
DancingDreamer Posts: 520
in Fitness and Exercise
i'm getting a cold and trying to fight it off like mad. i HATE being sick SO much. i'm taking emergen-c, drinking kombucha green tea which gives your immune system a boost, and if i cant find any in my house i'm going to buy some zinc lozenges.

my question is....is exercising good or bad for a developing cold? i want to go walking outside because its such a beautiful day out today, but is that probably a bad idea? thanks in advance for any advise!

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  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
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    Yes if it is above the neck like a head cold. No if it is below and in the chest
  • aunienue
    aunienue Posts: 416
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    I have a bad cold right now...today has been the worst day so far. I think listen to your body. Personally, I feel okay enough to walk but too chesty to run. Just my thoughts...
  • RedneckWmn
    RedneckWmn Posts: 3,202 Member
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    Yes if it is above the neck like a head cold. No if it is below and in the chest

    This is what I have always followed. If you workout too hard while your sick your likely to make it worse. Your best off taking the time off, resting and getting better. Otherwise you might end up sicker and for longer then you would of been. Take care of yourself!
  • runner915
    runner915 Posts: 106
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    Moderate exercise can actually boost your immune system's response when you have a cold. Just make you aren't stressing your body too much! And if you have a fever then you should wait a few days before getting back to exercise.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I think you'd be OK with some very light cardio (like a stroll outside). I wouldn't work up a major sweat or go running or anything. Your body needs to work on healing your cold.
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    I don't if I have a fever or a stomach flu, otherwise I do. I have a cold and most of it is chest/lungs but I still ran 4.5 miles last night in torrential downpours. Then I took a nice hot shower and had some tea. I don't feel any worse today! It's really up to you, I try not to let anything stop me.
  • DancingDreamer
    DancingDreamer Posts: 520
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    thanks everyone! i think i'm going to take a light walk outside, slower then i usually do and shorter then i usually do as well, but still a small one.
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
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    When I have a cold, the best thing I found is to run because that's one of the few times I can breathe lol. That and I feel better with the endorphins and the exercise helps with my immune system. Anymore I find that it's when I STOP exercising that I get sick!
  • jimmydeanbakker
    jimmydeanbakker Posts: 333
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    It won't kill you to take a break since you're sick. Once you've kicked this cold, hop back into your exercise regiment. You won't make any gains when you feel like crap.
  • amandapratt
    amandapratt Posts: 177 Member
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    Thanks for posting this - I've got a cold right now and wanted to know the same thing! Looks like I'll be taking a short stroll tonight :)
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    This might seems unbelievable to some, but I kid you not, it happen.

    I was signed up for a half marathon on Sept 19 (few weeks ago). Sept 17 I wake up with stuffed up nose & sinus, and a sore throat. Not what I wanted, and unbelievable considering I never was sick for the previous 18 months. But I wasn't going to waste my $60 entry fee so at that point I still made the call to run the race, not expecting to meet my 2 hr goal.

    For the next day, I drank lots of water, took a multi vitamin twice a day, and rested. Come the morning of the race, still felt the same, but I went racing. I guess with the adrenaline, I didn't even notice anything different during the race. I ran my planned pace, etc and actually blew my goal finishing in 1:54. When I got home, I had a shower, and went to bed for a couple hours. I woke up with no stuffiness, and no sore throat. I thought maybe it was just a temporary thing and it would resume the next day. Nope. I didn't feel any residuals from the cold...only thing that hurt were my legs..LOL

    So I'm going to have to try that again if I get sick..knock on wood. Go run for 2 hrs and see if I can repeat the result. If so, I'm going to market it as a cure for the common cold. :laugh:

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