Exercising While Sick
You’re finally into an awesome routine. You haven’t missed a workout in weeks and you’re seeing great results in the mirror. Then all of a sudden you get that horrible feeling in the back of your throat, and you just don’t feel right. Low and behold, when you wake up the next morning you’re full-blown sick.
You’re forced to make a decision between taking the week off from the workouts that you’ve been really stoked about, or trooping through and choosing to workout while sick.
What should you do? Well, it depends on a few factors. While regular exercise has been proven to cut down the amount of sick days you experience in a year by half, the same cannot necessarily be said about actually working out during an illness. The general rule of thumb is to use the ‘above the neck or below the neck’ rule. If your symptoms are only present above your neck, like a mild sore throat or a little case of the sniffles, then doing a light workout won’t necessarily hurt. In fact, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, mild cardiovascular exercise can actually help symptoms of the common cold by opening up the airways and getting the blood flowing.
If your symptoms are below your neck, such as a wheezy cough or congestion in general, then it’s best to stay away from working out altogether. Symptoms like these can be present in more serious conditions like bronchitis and would be greatly worsened by exercise.
The ‘above the neck or below the neck rule’ is not fool proof, though. It’s best to use your discretion above all else. If you have a whopping head cold that is making you feel completely miserable, then do yourself and your immune system a favor and take a sick day (or week). The world won’t come to end and your body won’t suddenly turn into fat. When you finally recover and head back to the gym, you’ll be right back to where you were within a session or two.
What The Experts Say
If you do decide to work out while under the weather, then it’s recommended to cut both your intensity and the duration of your workout in half. Dr. Jeffrey Woods from the University of Illinois says its best to take it easy when sick, “to be prudent, I’d recommend cutting exercise duration and intensity when symptoms are present,” says Woods.
Dr. Daryl Rosebaum, MD, director of Sport Medicine at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine says that if symptoms improve within the first 5-10 minutes of the workout, then you can up the intensity to maybe 80% of your norm.
“Moderation is the key,” says Dr. Rosenbaum. “Studies have shown that people suffering from the common cold who get up and get moving actually feel better. If you go too far, however — either with extreme short-term activity or long-term overtraining — the immune system weakens. A viral cold that is allowed to linger for longer than normal could create sinus conditions that are ripe for a bacterial sinusitis to take over.”
That very thing that Dr. Rosenbaum discussed has happened to yours truly before. I felt the symptoms, but chose to ignore them. I went out for my usual run, and later that day, I felt about 10x worse than I normally do with a cold. My immune system just had too much to deal with, and I was out for a solid 2 weeks; over twice the time it normally takes my body to get rid of a cold. The main thing to take away from this is to not overdo it and to listen to your body. Granted, it’s possible that it was just a very bad version of the common cold, but I can promise you that run didn’t help.
Working Out With A Cold
Do Exercise While Sick (in moderation) if:
- Your symptoms are above the neck and feel ok.
- You have a bit of a sore throat and feel ok.
- You have a mild headache and feel ok.
- You’re planning on doing light cardio to see if it opens up your sinuses a bit.
Don’t Exercise While Sick if:
- You absolutely need to go to a gym. Don’t be the jerk who decides he or she is working out with a cold and subsequently passes it on to everyone in there. Take your workout outside or workout at home.
- You’re planning on lifting weights. It’s hard not to use too much intensity during these workouts, and this will often make your illness worse and/or prolong it.
- You have a fever or if your temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
- You have symptoms below your neck.
- You feel nauseous.
- You’re not sure whether you should work out or not.
- You have any congestion.
- Have body aches or pains.
Precautions
It’s particularly important to stay adequately hydrated when you’re sick because of the natural water loss that takes place during a common cold; not just from nasal drainage, but many cold medicines contain antihistamine (used to help stop a running nose and sneezing) which also naturally dehydrates you.
The Bottom Line
I’d say that when in doubt, take the time off. You should take a full week off every 8 or 9 weeks anyways, and you won’t be hurting your progress at all by not working out for a few days. In all likelihood, the rest will actually help your overall progress. Making sure your body’s immune system has a chance to adequately recover in a weeks time by not exercising is a better choice than exercising when sick and potentially prolonging your illness by a significant amount.
