Working Out While Sick

With fever, nausea, extreme fatigue, and infection - my advice would be to slow down a little until you are well. Exercise is a stressor to your central nervous system. So is eating in a calorie deficit. So is having an infection. Your immune system is trying to tell you something. Your body needs to heal.

No, you need to rest. If you feel achy and sore and tired then working out will only make things worse.

You will not make any gains while you are sick and you risk weakening your immune system. Studies on mice have shown this very clearly: mice that exercise intensely are significantly more likely to sicken and die when exposed to a flu virus (although they otherwise show all markers for superior health).

Fighting off a bug is very taxing on the body. You should rest and make sure you're getting enough calories. If you feel sort of OK, then very light exercise (I'm talking about going for a walk) is probably OK. But do not try and "tough it out." No good will come of it and you will very likely find yourself sicker than before.

I've been sick all week too and I haven't worked out... I feel terrible about it... but it won't do me any good if I push too hard and pass out or something (for me it's just headaches and dizziness).

Thanks everyone. I really am just starting at this all and have only done one workout with my trainer. Thankfully what I have isn't a contagious thing, so I wouldn't be getting anyone at the gym sick. Basically I'm dealing with post cancer crap. I just wish it would all go away.

Sorry to hear that you are dealing with that.

Given that you aren't at risk of spreading anything... my advice would be to give yourself permission to go lightly.

I see it as a spectrum. On one end we have the "My body says I'm very ill" and the other end is "I don't feel like working out today, feel like being lazy, think I can give myself an excuse, too busy, have to wash my shoelace collection, etc".

I find myself at the latter end all too often!

If you feel you're about to puke, pass out, or have a major medical issue... don't go. Be smart. Rest. Tomorrow is another day.

If you just feel crummy... maybe keep your gym habit going and give yourself permission to go lightly. Walk on the treadmill. Ride a bike. Whatever you feel most comfortable or most enjoy doing.

Exercise sometimes helps when I feel bad. Getting some blood flowing. Feeling some good tiredness. Even the sense of accomplishment that comes with "I overcame the crappiness and still worked out" has positive mental value at times. Some days, I have to accept that doing SOMETHING is better than doing nothing.