Exercising whilst ill

paintitblack
paintitblack Posts: 60
edited October 1 in Fitness and Exercise
The common cold is a hassle that happens even to the healthiest of people in society. At the moment, my cold is at its peak. My head is sore, my nose is a constant streaming mess (and is also sore from relentless blowing) and my throat has most certainly seen better days. This brings me to my question: would it be wise to work out whilst I feel like this?

I don't particularly feel like hitting the gym or busting out a work out DVD, but I don't really want to sit around for a week feeling sorry for myself whilst my body gets accustomed to laying about instead of kicking *kitten*. So what are your thoughts? Any anecdotal suggestions? Any work outs you could suggest that won't tax my body too much? (I usually use Jillian Michaels and the Insanity series but I'm not sure I'm up to them!)

Thank you and I hope none of you are burdened with aches, pains and runny noses!

Replies

  • Naomi_84
    Naomi_84 Posts: 197 Member
    Go for a walk and get some fresh air. You're right, you don't want to push yourself too hard while your body is trying to fight off an infection, you need to be reserving some energy so your immune system can do it's job properly. I would take a long walk in the park and concentrate fully on your diet for a few days, for instance by getting enough vitamins and minerals and drink extra water.

    Hope you feel better soon.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    The rule of thumb is if your symptoms are above the neck, you're OK to work out, but take it easy so you don't delay your recovery. Below the throat (chest cough, temperature etc.) and you should rest until you feel better.

    Get well soon!
  • hemlock2010
    hemlock2010 Posts: 422 Member
    My own experience is that if I have a little cold, exercising makes me feel better. But I think that exercising when I was getting the flu last spring made me sicker. So that supports the above the neck rule.
  • NemesisJRM
    NemesisJRM Posts: 248 Member
    Personally when Ive been Ill and lay down to it, I've seen myself take longer to recover, When I was training and had a cold or flu. Generally If i kept training I felt the cold or flu would deminish quicker, wether this was because your technically increasing your core body temp which would means you fight the infection faster I dont know but thats my reckoning... Im not certified to any degree but can speak only from personal experience. Hope it helps and wishing you a speedy recovery :-D
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