We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Training with a cold?

Scubdup
Scubdup Posts: 104 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
To date I've always been of the view that it's best to lay off exercise and exertion whilst under the weather. I felt that a decent rest was the fastest way to get better quicker and back into the gym and training hard.

More recently however, and since the arrival of our 3 young boys (or "germ vectors", to give them their more accurate name) I seem to be almost permanently fighting something off. If I avoided the gym whenever I feel like this, I would never go.

What are people's views on whether to train, and how to train, whilst in this condition?

I feel like the stuff in my programme that is a bit CNS-spanking - eg, the HIIT stuff, and my 1RM olympics lifts - might be detrimental, but that some calorie-burning long steady state might feel rubbish at the time, but wouldn't do too much harm.

Thanks any thoughts or tips.

Replies

  • Rincewind_1965
    Rincewind_1965 Posts: 639 Member
    Lost a friend to Myocarditis so I would strongly discourage any attempt to train with a cold.
  • Scubdup
    Scubdup Posts: 104 Member
    edited January 2018
    Detritus_1965 wrote: »
    Lost a friend to Myocarditis so I would strongly discourage any attempt to train with a cold.

    I'm sorry to hear that, Detritus. Thanks for posting - I hadn't heard of Myocarditis before you shared that.

    For anyone else, here's one of the first articles I found on the subject:-

    http://www.dw.com/en/when-sports-are-bad-and-threaten-the-heart/a-16309687

    It sounds like a very serious illness which can have fatal, or long-term detrimental repercussions on your health.

    That said, and without trying to trivialise anything, it seems that the problem arises where there has been a fever, or serious (possibly undiagnosed or detected) infection.

    I still think that where the problem is a low level cold, it *might* be acceptable to do some LSS work, but I *am* going to read more about it before making any decisions.
  • _mr_b
    _mr_b Posts: 302 Member
    My general rule is that if I feel I can train then I do.

    If I’m feeling like I’m getting a cold I tend to train anyway as I find that for whatever reason that tends to get rid of it.
    If it’s taken hold I feel to rubbish to train, so don’t .
  • cat_lady77
    cat_lady77 Posts: 203 Member
    _mr_b wrote: »
    My general rule is that if I feel I can train then I do.

    If I’m feeling like I’m getting a cold I tend to train anyway as I find that for whatever reason that tends to get rid of it.
    If it’s taken hold I feel to rubbish to train, so don’t .

    Exactly! If you KNOW you've got something, I'd say skip it & rest. That is also considerate if you go to a gym where others can catch your germs!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories