Working Out While Sick

You finally have a great exercise routine. You have been doing it for weeks without missing a single session and you are seeing great results every time you look at the mirror. Then one day, you just don't feel good. The next morning, you wake up with a very terrible feeling - you are sick. Sniffling nose, scratchy throat, and an awful headache.

You don't know what to do. Should you take a week off from your perfected exercise routine or should you just continue working out while sick.

What should you do? Actually, you have to consider a few things. While it is true that working out regularly reduces the amount of sick days in a year by half, it can't be proven that the same thing would happen if you choose to work out in the middle of a cold. The general rule of thumb is to use the "above the neck or below the neck" rule. If the symptoms of your illness are above your neck, such as a mild sore throat or a little case of the sniffles, a light workout won't hurt at all. In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine stated that performing mild cardiovascular exercises can help cure the symptoms of common cold by opening up the airways and improving the blood flow.

If your symptoms are below your neck, for example a wheezy cough or congestion in general, it would be best not to work out until you get better. These symptoms are also present in more serious conditions, such as bronchitis, and working out might only worsen it. It's very important to not workout at all if you have such symptoms.

However, the "above the neck or below the neck" rule is not 100% proven to be effective. Just use your discretion above all else. If you have a headache and cold that make you feel terrible, do yourself and your immune system a favor by taking a week off from your exercise routines and get plenty of rest (your body recovers the best while sleeping). The world won't certainly come to an end and you won't immediately get fat if you do these things. As soon as you get and feel better, you can head out to the gym and perform a session or two to get yourself right back to where you left off. You'll be your pre-workout self before you know it.

If you really wanted to work out even when you are sick, you should just minimize the intensity and the duration of your workout by half. Dr. Jeffrey Woods from the University of Illinois recommends taking it easy when you are sick, and "to be prudent, I'd recommend cutting exercise duration and intensity when symptoms are present," says Woods.

According to Dr. Daryl Rosenbaum, MD, Director of Sports Medicine at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, if your symptoms improve after 5 to 10 minutes of working out, you can then increase the intensity to up to 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."

What Dr. Rosenbaum mentioned has happened to me before. The symptoms were there but I chose to ignore them. I went for my usual run outside and later that day, I felt really worse than I usually do when I have a cold. My immune system was so bad and I was really sick for two weeks, more than twice the amount of time that my body usually takes to get rid of a cold. What I learned from this is to not overdo it and to listen to my body. Maybe what I had was just a very bad version of a common cold but I assure you, that run didn't help at all.

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're planning on doing light cardio to see if it opens up your sinuses a bit.

Don't Exercise While Sick if:

- You have no choice but 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

When you get sick, you will naturally lose water - especially if it's a cold, so don't forget to keep yourself hydrated at all times.