By Robert Carew
With the flu season upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to give some guidelines on exercising when you are sick. Should you exercise or not?
Well the general rule is that if it is above the neck (sore throat, running nose, congestion) it is okay to exercise. My advice though would be to tone down the workout and don’t push yourself too hard that day.
If your symptoms are below the neck however (coughing, fever, body aches, fatigue) then definitely no exercise, and you should probably go and see a doctor.
Also one should generally avoid exercise when on antibiotics. This is because there is an infection in the body, so the immune system is under stress trying to fight it. Exercise is a stressor and could further weaken the immune system making one vulnerable to additional infection.
Exercise could also cause a virus to infect the heart muscle resulting in myocarditis and other heart conditions.
Many fitness fanatics are worried they’ll lose what they’ve spent hours in the gym working for. But I think that sometimes a few days off is just what the body needs. Also if you are finding that you are getting sick often, it could be as a result of overtraining and you may have to decrease the intensity of the workouts to give your body more time to recover. Ultimately just listen to your body, and rather put your feet up and rest if you are not feeling a hundred percent.
