Exercise When Sick?

By Stacey Nolan Young

Recently I was asked the same question a few times by different people. I thought it best to post a reply here on the website to this popular question:

Should I still exercise if I am sick?

It being cold and flu season now people are wondering if they should continue about their routines and keep on training. Some think that a break from their training could impede their progress or that training will actually make them stronger and better able to fight off a virus.

My answer? It depends.

As a general rule if your symptoms are from your neck and above and generally mild, you should be able to exercise. If they extend below the neck then my answer would be absolutely not. But this is the simplified version.

Above the neck would generally mean a cold or allergies.

If your symptoms are mild than you can get away with training. This would not be the time to break any personal records though. You’d want to take it a little bit easier by decreasing your weights by roughly 25% and stopping short of muscle failure. And above all else- listen to what your body is telling you to do. If you feel run down while training, then stop your workout, let your body recover and start again at the gym when you are ready. As a side note though- exercise has been proven effective for relieving nasal congestion.

Below the neck would indicate a flu.

If you have the flu or suspect you have the flu it is best to stop your exercise regime altogether. You do not do any service to your body at all if you continue to train through an illness like this. In fact you are doing more harm than good. The best thing to do in this case is to take the time off and rest and drink plenty of fluids.

Why?

Your body’s immune system is taxed much more by the flu than by the common cold. While training can help us gain muscle, lose fat, feel good and energetic, it is still a catabolic (breakdown) activity. The body needs to be in good health in order to go from the catabolic state caused by the exercise to an anabolic (building) state of recuperation and muscle growth.

So if you have the flu, your body is already fighting a catabolic state caused by the Influenza virus. In this case, weight training would only add more catabolism, which in turn would negatively affect the efficiency of the immune system against the virus causing you to get sicker. In other words, your body needs every ounce of energy it has in order to fight off the virus and cannot spare the energy required to repair itself from an exercise bout at this time without comprimising your immune system.

Once the flu completely runs its course, you can slowly start up back on your weight training program with lighter weights and not going to failure. Don’t push yourself too hard during this first week. Within the next couple of weeks you will slowly be returning yourself to where you were before you got sick.

Keep healthy!

Posted: January 20th, 2010 at 12:22pm By: stacey