is it okay to go to the gym when you have a cold?

lizzynewm
lizzynewm Posts: 199 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
i've seen a lot of different answers for this, from "absolutely" to "no way", so i wanna know how some of you fitness gurus feel. i woke up with a raspy sore throat and swollen lymph nodes, but i have the energy to go for it and i'm itching to go to the gym. what's the healthy thing to do?

EDIT: i guess my real question is if it's okay for me to personally exercise, not necessarily go to the gym to do it. sorry to scare everyone! wont be infecting anyone today at the gym... i promise!
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Replies

  • Arthemise1
    Arthemise1 Posts: 365 Member
    My doctor told me I could exercise as long as the symptoms are in my head (no, not imaginary). If they move into the chest, don't exercise.

    That being said, you might also want to consider the others going to the gym. Will they want to exercise next to someone who's coughing up a lung and perhaps spreading germs?
  • jmelyan23
    jmelyan23 Posts: 1,648 Member
    That being said, you might also want to consider the others going to the gym. Will they want to exercise next to someone who's coughing up a lung and perhaps spreading germs?

    This would be my concern--getting others sick.

    Maybe try doing some exercising at home if you really feel the need and have the energy until you're sure the cold is gone. :flowerforyou:
  • NewTeena
    NewTeena Posts: 154 Member
    I wouldn't go to the gym if I were sick, but there's nothing wrong with going for a walk or exercising at home.
  • EpiGaiaRepens
    EpiGaiaRepens Posts: 824 Member
    Um. If you were on the machine next to me and coughing, I'd be pissed. It's not just about you, ya know.

    If you can't help it and you gotta go, be sure to be extra considerate. Clean your machines, cover your coughs/sneezes, and give lots of extra space to others.
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
    I've been to the gym when I've felt sniffly and generally 'blah' from a cold, but I did not go when I had the flu. Turns out a couple of us caught the flu in the same week and I definitely did not want to pass THAT along. Yuck.
  • foxyhotgal
    foxyhotgal Posts: 79 Member
    better to rest x
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    Personally I don't. I don't think it's very nice for me to be spreading my germs all over the gym. When I'm sick, I usually just do a light workout at home like take a walk, or an easy exercise DVD - if I even exercise at all. I really hope other people don't come to the gym sick either....I'm not fond of catching people's illnesses.
  • fyfi_fendir
    fyfi_fendir Posts: 64 Member
    yes you can, no you shouldn't. Spreading your germ at the gym is really not a good idea, but if you can do something at home or a walk outside, go for it, Just be gentle on your body, don't do anything strenuous.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    If it's not in your chest working out should not be a problem, however you might not be be too popular!:smile:
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    On Wednesday or Thursday last week, I was doing my treadmill thing, and noticed that a guy two machines down from me kept HACKING very badly every few minutes. The girl who was running next to me kept looking over too. It was really gross sounding. When he got off the machine, he didn't bother to wipe it down.

    Guess what? On Friday, I started feeling sick. All weekend, I was sick. I missed work yesterday because I was sick.

    Now I am waiting until at least Thursday or Friday to go back to the gym, even though I am itching to go, to make sure I give myself enough time to get better, both for myself and for everyone else at the gym.

    Can I send that guy a bill for all the overtime hours I lost, missing Monday?? I wish. :/

    In summary: Please don't go to the gym if you're sick, especially if you JUST started getting sick. Wait until you're better, but find some other ways to exercise until then. And always wipe down your machines!
  • lizzynewm
    lizzynewm Posts: 199 Member
    don't worry you guys, i'm not that selfish! i wouldn't go if i was hacking or spreading illness to fellow gym-goers to give them the same dilemma i have. if i did go, i would cardio it up on one machine and sanitize it afterward like i generally do even when i'm devoid of annoying throat-rasp. i guess i should have worded my question differently - i was just wondering what the health concerns are (if there are any) from exercising with a common cold!
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
    If it's just a cold i go. I carry a kleenex, I wear weight gloves. I also always sick or not wipe the machines and dumbells and even my mat when I do floor exercises. I cough or sneeze in my elbow. I don't use the sauna or showers when I'm sick cuz warm moist places breed germs. Are you gonna avoid public places just cuz ya got the sniffles?? I mean really just use common sense,
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I agree with the poster that said if it's in your head you can exercise but if it's in your chest stop. That being said, your body needs extra calories to fight a cold, and you're probably doing yourself a disservice by spending those calories at the gym instead of healing yourself. Combined with a general concern for the wellbeing of others at the gym, I would personally stay home.

    UNLESS your cold is really allergies. Its that time of year and my allergies can feel like a cold- in that case I would take an allergy medicine and go to the gym.
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
    don't worry you guys, i'm not that selfish! i wouldn't go if i was hacking or spreading illness to fellow gym-goers to give them the same dilemma i have. if i did go, i would cardio it up on one machine and sanitize it afterward like i generally do even when i'm devoid of annoying throat-rasp. i guess i should have worded my question differently - i was just wondering what the health concerns are (if there are any) from exercising with a common cold!

    My doctor said if you can it probably will make you feel better.
  • Ttopeka
    Ttopeka Posts: 151 Member
    Please don't. I live with someone who, due to their own illness, will be hospitalized if they catch so much as a cold or the flu -- and because of this, I have to be VERY careful about bringing germs home. It's difficult enough already without someone who *admits* they're sick being careless and spreading germs unnecessarily. Please think of others and work out at home, or go for a walk/run.
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
    yes you can, no you shouldn't. Spreading your germ at the gym is really not a good idea, but if you can do something at home or a walk outside, go for it, Just be gentle on your body, don't do anything strenuous.

    WOW lots of people must stay in quarantine when they are sick. You are more likely to get sick going to the mall this time of year opening doors than at the gym. hahaha.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    I'm not a doctor, but my biggest health concern would be this: a cold virus - in chest or head - weakens you as a whole. It messes with your entire metabolism. Just ask a diabetic how much harder it is to keep sugars under control when they've got a cold. So will the actual exercise hurt you? Probably not. Will passing out and smacking your head on the edge of a treadmill hurt you? It sure will.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    No... even if you feel completely SUPER, it's not fair to spread those germs around to everyone else. If you want to exercise, do it at home with a video. Or, if you live someplace remote/rural like me - go for a hike.
  • Speedtrap
    Speedtrap Posts: 216
    OK, I will say flat out it is not OK.

    While it might be just a cold or sniffles for you it can be a big problem for others.
    I have a daughter with CF, we are very careful about being around her when we are not feeling well.
    I hate it when I go to work or the gym and someone is there sick. I do not have control over others actions, so if you are sick and I see it, I just pack up and leave.

    You will be better in a few days and can go then :)
  • cPT_Helice
    cPT_Helice Posts: 403
    i've seen a lot of different answers for this, from "absolutely" to "no way", so i wanna know how some of you fitness gurus feel. i woke up with a raspy sore throat and swollen lymph nodes, but i have the energy to go for it and i'm itching to go to the gym. what's the healthy thing to do?

    I don't go, unless I have to teach, for the first 24 -48 hours out of respect for other people there, who don't need to get sick from me. If I feel ok, I work out at home, yoga, pilates or nice easy run or walk, and let my body heal.

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