Exercise and being sick..

cheffie12
cheffie12 Posts: 30 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I just started running 1 mile everyday about two weeks ago. Everything was going great and then about 5 days ago, I came down with a terrible cold. Sore throat, cough, nose and ears, body ache.. I'm still not better, but feeling like I need to workout. I read that if you are sick from the neck and down that you should just take it easy, but I am worried that I will lose all the progress I have made. What's the best kind of light excercise to do while sick so you don't lose progress while not exhausting yourself and making yourself even more sick?

Replies

  • morkiemama
    morkiemama Posts: 894 Member
    Honestly, rest is best when you are ill. However, if you absolutely cannot stand the rest, just walking is beneficial.
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
    Walking, light stretches, after the worse of it, something like pilates works for me.
  • steph2strong
    steph2strong Posts: 426 Member
    Your sickness sounds a lot worse than a little cold. If you have body aches and are coughing it is best to take it easy. Last month my younger sister (age 29) who is very fit and active got a "cold" like this and she initially pushed through it, continuing to run and do yoga and strength training, well she didn't get better and actually got worse. She ended up having to go to Emergency and was diagnosed with Pneumonia and is now on 10 day course of antibiotics and has missed the past two weeks of work and definitely hasn't been able to do any exercise. She is miserable. If you feel up to it walking should be fine, but if this is anything more than a head cold just rest. Pushing yourself when sick does not make your body stronger or give you any fitness gains.
  • cheffie12
    cheffie12 Posts: 30 Member
    Thank you everyone! It's hard to just rest when you're used to a daily workout routine, but I guess rest is more important right now. I will try light walking and see how I feel afterwards. Definitely don't want to get any sicker!
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 12,169 Member
    Rule of thumb I've gone by is where are you sick? From the neck up (aka head cold), you can probably work out fine. But once it goes below the neck (body aches, chest congestion) you should rest.
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