I’m having a couple of days, in fact, probably more like four, off training and the gym.
Why, because my body says so, it needs time to recover following the virus I’ve had over the past week.
After all these years I have enough experience to know that I’m not going to lose any strength or muscle tone during my ‘time out’. Within a week I’ll be back in the gym without noticing I’ve had any time off.
We all have friends who complain about how ill and tired they feel, but still insist on going to the gym, some almost crawling there, I know, I’ve done it myself….but why?
Should we work out if we have a cough and cold?
There are some guidelines out there, and that’s whether symptoms are above or below the neck.
For example, a runny nose (not streaming!) and stuffy sinuses, Light-Moderate exercise, again that’s not a High Intensity Spin, Heavy Weight training or hard Circuit session!!
Symptoms from the neck down…sore throat, chesty/dry cough, high temperature, aching limbs or anything gastric, exercise is NOT recommended.
A study sponsored by the American college of Sports Medicine, says we have to listen to what our body really wants, and sometimes accept that it might not be exercise.
Doing high intensity exercise, during a cold or respiratory infection, has been shown to have a negative impact on the immune system, therefore making things worse and slowing down our recovery from the virus.
If you make the decision to work out and you can’t complete the session, just stop, it’s not a time for any record breaking.
But let’s end on a positive!
The common cold affects us all, but a study in the American Journal of Medicine, showed that those taking regular exercise actually had half the number of colds as those who didn’t exercise.
And, in another study, researchers found that in 65 year olds who did regular exercise, their T-cells were as high as those in their 30’s.
So as soon as you feel better, get back out there, it’s worth it.
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