Should you Exercise with a Cold? Exercising while Sick

You have just started a new work out regimen and you are starting to make some progress. Then you start feeling poorly. There are enough excuses out there not to workout and you just don’t want to have another one, so you think to yourself “maybe I can just push through it, but is working out while I am sick okay”? The quick answer regarding continuing to exercise with a cold is yes, but only if you are sure that it’s just the common cold. You shouldn’t however, keep exercising while sick if your ailment happens to be the flu.

There is nothing wrong with exercising with a cold as long as you lower your intensity level a bit. It has been shown that moderate activity while under the weather has no negative effect on the length or severity of a cold, compared to those who did not exercise. Though exercising while under the weather may not necessarily shorten the length of the bug, it can have a positive effect on your symptoms.

How can exercise alleviate cold symptoms?
Physical activity can clear your nasal passages by releasing adrenalin, also called epinephrine, which acts as a natural decongestant. In addition, people who exercise on a regular basis tend to have more effective immune systems, which directly relates to a shorter and less severe bout of symptoms. When you’ve got a nasty cold, there’s also something to be said about the act of getting dressed, leaving the house and moving around- it can help you feel more like you are still among the living, even when you’re feeling miserable.

Exercising with the flu, however, is not recommended. Even moderate activity can have an overall negative effect on the length and severity of the flu. Limiting your activity, getting plenty of rest, and keeping well hydrated is the best course of action when you have the flu.

How do you know the difference between the cold and the flu? Know your symptoms.

Cold - It is okay to exercise if you have:
• Runny nose and eyes
• Sniffling and sneezing
• Scratchy throat

Flu - Do not exercise if you have:
• Fever
• Body aches or headache
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Chest congestion and a cough

Remember, even though it is okay to workout while not feeling 100%, it is not okay to expose others to your illness. Working out at home is the best option but if you do choose to go somewhere public to exercise make sure you don’t skimp on cleaning the equipment after you use it. Everything you touch should be wiped down afterward (not that it shouldn’t be anyway), keep your distance from others, don’t shake hands, and ideally wear a facemask to keep contamination to a minimum. Just think of how you would feel with someone sniffling and sneezing next to you on a treadmill, and act accordingly.

There are enough excuses to not workout, having a cold is not necessarily one of them. As mentioned above, the immune system boost that exercising offers can actually make your body more resistant to getting sick in the first place. Being healthy and fit is not easy but it is well worth the effort.


Via : https://boutder.blogspot.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Often Should You Work Out Your Abs?

If you really want washboard abs, you've got to put the work in every day. Right? Actually, crushing your ab routine everyday might do more harm than good.  “People have the idea that if they do an hour of ab exercises that that’s going to chisel their abs and burn fat from that area—the old spot-reduction approach,” says Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at Quincy College in Quincy, MA. But realistically, Westcott says you should train your core no more than three days a week. While by now you know that spot-reduction is a myth, when you overtrain your abs at lower intensities, core work becomes an endurance-type activity rather than a strength- and muscle-building activity, Westcott explains. Related: Don’t Miss These Nine Exercises That Will Fast-Track Your Six-Pack On top of not providing the intensity or recovery time needed to increase strength, too much training can also increase your risk of overuse and imbala...
Read more

How to Gain Weight the Healthy Way - Building Muscle, Curve Shape

An important part of fitness that’s covered much less than weight loss, is weight gain. Gaining weight takes strategy, consistency, and work. It might seem foreign to some people who have differing goals, but saying “just eat more!” to someone who is trying to gain weight is not unlike saying “just eat less!” to someone who needs to lose weight. Relationships with food can be complicated. How to eat to gain weight and muscle the healthy way Eat often - Try to eat 6 times a day; 3 meals and 3 snacks. Try to not let more than 2-3 hours pass in between eating. Related:  What should you eat before your workout? Best pre-work out snacks  Eat more - Adding an additional 500-1000 extra calories to daily intake would make for an increase of 1-2 lbs a week, though these variables will be impacted by the individual’s level of activity. It may seem a little intimidating to someone who is trying to eat more to gain weight but you can break the add...
Read more

140-Pound Woman Joins The 1,000 Club

From nothingness, the universe was created. From a simple caterpillar, a butterfly emerges. A dorky teen grows up to be a fashion model, or a bodybuilder. The one constant in life is change, and in our  Transformation of the Week  series, AskMen is celebrating men and women who have turned their lives around through dedication, commitment and hard work. Is that you? Email us your story and pictures at askus@askmen.com and you could be featured next week! Reaching the 1,000-pound club is an impressive feat for any lifter man or woman. It is essentially a standard by which many lifters measure themselves to be “strong.” To join the club, add the total weight you can lift in a squat, bench press and deadlift. If the total is more than 1,000, you’re in. And if you’re not in, it does not mean you’re weak. In fairness, that’s a damn lot of weight. Which made it all the more impressive when Gabrielle Tucker announced on a Reddit thread that she had...
Read more