To exercise or not when feeling unwell?

SarahLou1111

I started this exercise malarky three weeks ago and I am loving every minute of it :happy: So much so that yesterday was a rest day and I was restless as anything and really missed doing a class - so unlike me whose b*m has been firmly planted on the sofa for the last three years! I have been advised by the gym I have joined to have two rest days a week for the first few weeks rather than one (I am a big girl, 170lbs, 5'3" so am taking their advice) so I have picked Wednesdays and Sundays.

I developed a bit of a cough Tuesday night which has got steadily worse and is now a horrible hacking chesty nuisance and today I feel like total and utter p**ts, tempuraturey, leg achey and I do genuinely feel really under the weather.

So...do I suck it up and go to my spin class and do as much as I feel I can even if it turns out to be a pretty poor effort or do I have another rest day? Don't want to sabotage my weight loss chances this week because I didn't lose last week (lost 1lb my first week) and I was hoping to see another 1lb gone this week.

Any advice from experienced exercisers would be much appreciated!

Sarah

erinsueburns

To me, the more pertinent thing is if you are ill, it is impolite to take that out into public touching things that others are touching and maybe get them sick too. Also, if you are ill, your body needs the care so you don't get sicker. I'd stay home and maybe do bodyweight exercises or something if I felt up to it.

SarahLou1111

Ha yes, very selfishly I had not considered that I would be spreading my germs in the air conditioned studio! I will take myself out for a walk in the fresh air instead...

n_unocero

If you're running a fever I would say don't do it.

Annerk1

I agree with the others--if you are sick, stay home. That said, you can still do some exercise. Even simple stretching type exercises will help keep your metabolism going and keep you limber.

witchy_wife

Sounds like you need to rest up! If it's just a sniffly cold or headache I will sometimes just wrap up and go for a walk in the fresh air as it does help. But achiness and temperatures normally indicate something a bit more than a cold, and pushing yourself when poorly could make you worse.

Just let your body guide you, hope you feel better soon :flowerforyou:

purpleprose78

So last summer, I got pneumonia because I didn't take care of myself. I kept exercising when I was sick. I didn't go to the doctor fast enough. My advice. Rest. Otherwise, a few days break could turn into three months where you can't do any kind of exertion without breaking into horrible hacking coughs.