I have a cold. Can I do non-cardio type exercise?
julanig612
Posts: 40 Member
I started with this cold and did a few yoga workouts and now I feel worse. I don't have a fever or any systematic symptoms much, stuffy head and lethargy mostly. I don't want to not do anything, I have finally gotten to a point that I am making some progress and I don't want to lose it now.
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You said that working out makes you feel worse, so why would you work out? Your body needs time to recover. A few days off from working out is not going to make you lose all your progress, but pushing yourself and making your illness worse can definitely set you back.12
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Listen to your body. It tells you what it wants and needs.
Feel better.2 -
Lost a friend to myocarditis and learned a lesson:
No hard work when having a cold. Period.8 -
julanig612 wrote: »I started with this cold and did a few yoga workouts and now I feel worse. I don't have a fever or any systematic symptoms much, stuffy head and lethargy mostly. I don't want to not do anything, I have finally gotten to a point that I am making some progress and I don't want to lose it now.
The only thing you should be doing is letting your body rest and heal...drink a ton of fluids, including electrolytes. Make or have someone make you a nice big bowl of chicken noodle soup with saltine crackers... This always makes me feel better and only thing my stomach can handle during a flu or cold. I got sick with a really bad cold about 1 month into my weight loss. I wanted to keep working out too but did the above mentioned instead. Grand scheme of things, it caused no disruption in my journey. Feel better soon!1 -
As above and go to bed! I've had two colds during my three month 32lb journey so far (winter is fun as well as sick flatmates) and I went to bed, took cold medicine and continued to lose weight just fine. I ate healthy that whole time within my calorie deficit and drank lots of water and slept. I was fine.1
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MySlimGoals wrote: »As above and go to bed! I've had two colds during my three month 32lb journey so far (winter is fun as well as sick flatmates) and I went to bed, took cold medicine and continued to lose weight just fine. I ate healthy that whole time within my calorie deficit and drank lots of water and slept. I was fine.
I'd say take it easy, but personally don't know too many people with the luxury of being able to lay in bed due to a common cold.2 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »MySlimGoals wrote: »As above and go to bed! I've had two colds during my three month 32lb journey so far (winter is fun as well as sick flatmates) and I went to bed, took cold medicine and continued to lose weight just fine. I ate healthy that whole time within my calorie deficit and drank lots of water and slept. I was fine.
I'd say take it easy, but personally don't know too many people with the luxury of being able to lay in bed due to a common cold.
They may have meant go to bed rather than exercise.
Did you mean go to work when sick? Agreed, many in the US do not have the ability to take off time when sick. But they should have this. I don't want sick restaurant workers sneezing in my food and support their efforts to get sick time.6 -
The general guideline about working out with a cold is that if all your symptoms are above the neck - stuffy nose, etc. - you can work out, but if you have muscle soreness, tiredness, fever, or other below the neck symptoms, don’t. You mention that you don’t have many systematic symptoms but also that you feel worse, which says to me that you feel bad! Which is a systematic symptom.
It won’t set you back very much at all to get over a cold. I understand the feeling of loss of control when you are just getting the hang of your new lifestyle, but you got this. Learning to be flexible and cope with what life throws at you is part of the process.2 -
When I am feeling less than 100%, I won’t do more than taking a walk or some light stretches. Nothing that would put stress on my heart or lungs and nothing that would put me in a position where my head is lowered down enough to increase pressure on my sinuses. If I feel really crappy, I won’t even do that much.
It is important to not overdo it, but sometimes a cold is more annoying than anything else. You are really the only person who knows how poorly you feel. Do what feels comfortable, just don’t push yourself.0 -
In addition to letting your body rest, please also consider your fellow exercisers if you workout outside the home. We don’t want to get sick, either.
Cut yourself some slack, rest up, and feel better!6 -
julanig612 wrote: »I started with this cold and did a few yoga workouts and now I feel worse. I don't have a fever or any systematic symptoms much, stuffy head and lethargy mostly. I don't want to not do anything, I have finally gotten to a point that I am making some progress and I don't want to lose it now.
Given that you felt worse after doing yoga (which isn't cardio), I can't imagine that any sort of exercise will end well in terms of your cold and not feeling worse. Like everyone has said, don't workout through this.1 -
julanig612 wrote: »I started with this cold and did a few yoga workouts and now I feel worse. I don't have a fever or any systematic symptoms much, stuffy head and lethargy mostly. I don't want to not do anything, I have finally gotten to a point that I am making some progress and I don't want to lose it now.
Given that you felt worse after doing yoga (which isn't cardio), I can't imagine that any sort of exercise will end well in terms of your cold and not feeling worse. Like everyone has said, don't workout through this.
You may be thinking of Gentle or Restorative yoga, which I agree is not cardio. However, the normal duration of flow-styles of yoga like Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Jivan Mukti, Power, etc. is indeed a cardiovascular workout.
https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/pump-it-up0 -
I like to walk. Gets the blood pumping and usually clears my head a little so I can breathe. Once I stop, the stuffiness comes back and it's time for soup and rest.0
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I once had a friend tell me that he had a 'neck rule'.
That if he was sick 'at the neck or above' he would still workout, but if he was sick below the neck then he wouldn't.
It seemed to make a weird kind of logic. Sore throat or stuffy nose = OK to work out. Congested chest, upset stomach or achy joints = No exercising.6 -
I’ve read that it is fine to workout with a cold but best not to with a fever or the flu0
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I once had a friend tell me that he had a 'neck rule'.
That if he was sick 'at the neck or above' he would still workout, but if he was sick below the neck then he wouldn't.
It seemed to make a weird kind of logic. Sore throat or stuffy nose = OK to work out. Congested chest, upset stomach or achy joints = No exercising.
That's what I thought0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »julanig612 wrote: »I started with this cold and did a few yoga workouts and now I feel worse. I don't have a fever or any systematic symptoms much, stuffy head and lethargy mostly. I don't want to not do anything, I have finally gotten to a point that I am making some progress and I don't want to lose it now.
Given that you felt worse after doing yoga (which isn't cardio), I can't imagine that any sort of exercise will end well in terms of your cold and not feeling worse. Like everyone has said, don't workout through this.
You may be thinking of Gentle or Restorative yoga, which I agree is not cardio. However, the normal duration of flow-styles of yoga like Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Jivan Mukti, Power, etc. is indeed a cardiovascular workout.
https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/pump-it-up
Regardless of whether not yoga is cardio, and I'm willing to concede that some styles are, the OP still is still likely too sick to benefit from "non-cardio type exercise".1 -
The problem with yoga and colds is the amount of time spent upside down. I often find a brisk walk or light jog enough to get respiration up does wonders for colds above the neck. There is in fact some "clearing out" that can aid in healing as long as you are not making your body sore enough to require "repair". It also comes down to what your usual is. My usual is quite intense so a light jog is in fact taking it easy for me. If your usual is slow walking, then full rest may be better.1
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