Awesome question! And it sounds like everybody has an opinion on the subject. I heard a family member saying ‘absolutely no’ and a close friend say ‘definitely yes’. I asked Diana, my personal goddess of all things fitness. She said that yes, I should. This response was bit superficial (I didn’t expect more – it was mid-training chatting), so I thought I should check.
So maybe this is more about injury than illness, but I think it expresses the sentiment of many athletes. But now that we got our chuckle, let’s get back to the merit of the issue.
I found one guy saying that being sick is ‘your body is out of balance and you need to ask yourself what is it trying to tell you’. I am all for living healthy and stress does make you more susceptible to germs, but sometimes you just get sick. No amount of ‘why me???’ thinking and attitude will help. So let’s move on…
Exercise is known to have many positive effects for your body, such as boosting your immune system, helping with weight control and many others. However, I have read in LiveStrong that intensive exercise over 90 minutes can depress your immune system a bit. Since this blog is done by a person who goes for very long workouts, it is of concern to me. I recall hearing on some podcast a mention of need for more vitamin C when you are an endurance athlete. However, a quick search yielded a plethora of results talking about how bad vitamin C is for athletes. Since I am not a medical professional, I am backing off this issue… The only conclusion I have to this: be careful about picking up bugs after a long run.
So now let’s talk about the sad situation where you did end up getting sick and are facing a dilemma: should I or shouldn’t I go to the gym? Start by evaluating how sick you are. I am going to assume that if you’re on the death’s door, you aren’t tempted to go for a run…
There are two basic considerations:
Fever
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According to WebMD, if your fever hits 101F (38.3C) – don’t. No further consideration is necessary. Get yourself some chicken noodle soup and go to bed. Entertain yourself by reading my blog posts and checking out cartoons 😉
Neck test
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Are your symptoms below or above the neck? This means that if your illness is limited to your head and throat (like sore throat, sniffles or earache), you are ok to exercise.
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On the other hand, if you have problems such as muscle aches or coughs, sit this one out. All the websites specifically talk about not working out when you have stomach problems. It’s a good point. Of course: who goes for a run when they have diarrhea? Or would you go for a swim when you’re vomiting? Somehow I consider taking a day off for stomach-related illness a no-brainer.
Having said that, if you have any doubts, you should check with a doctor. Or just take a day off – better safe than sorry!
Have you decided you’re ok for your training? Congrats! Let’s talk what you should or shouldn’t do:
Consider your recovery
We all react to illness differently. You know your body best and should listen to it. Doctors are usually a good person to talk to. Ask yourself: will this workout weaken me and prolong the illness or will it raise my body temperature and make me feel better? Give it a thought before heading out the door.
Intensity of training
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I don’t really know what this emoji is supposed to mean, but I think it looks a lot like me when I try to do a tempo run when I’m a bit of the weather. So maybe intense workouts are not winners when you are sick. Choose something easier. Frequent advice: how about yoga instead of spin? I know you don’t want to lose your hard-earned gains. But don’t hurt yourself, either. Go after maintaining your fitness rather than improving it.
Be considerate of others
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Whatever bug you have, you will be carrying with you and ‘sharing’ with others around you. Keep that in mind when you opt for exercise with other people around. For example doing a class frequently attended by the elderly may not be very nice of you – their immune systems may already be weak. Your little sniffles may mean weeks in bed for them. I would also recommend that you bring your own sweat towel (so that nobody has to handle your bodily fluids on the gym-provided ones), cover surfaces you sit on and wipe carefully and thoroughly everything you touch with sanitary wipes. I know it’s annoying, but it will help others avoid getting sick. Would you like the guy on the treadmill next to you to sneeze on you and give you a cold two weeks before a big race? I don’t think so. People you see at the gym feel the same way towards your sniffles.
I hope you will make it through this cold and flu season without getting sick!
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