I woke up super sore today so even though it's not a run day, I decided to go for a feel-good jog first thing to try to get some blood flowing and break up some of the inflammation in my legs. The weather is back up in the high seventies here in Wilmington so I'm trying to enjoy outdoor runs as much as possible before I'm doomed to the treadmill for the rest of winter. As I progressed into the first (and only) mile, I started to feel worse and worse. Not only were my legs extremely fatigued but I started to develop a pretty bad headache and now I'm congested and feel just awful! I guess it's the time of year for flu and colds. I hope whatever this is doesn't last too long.
After I completed a mile I walked for a bit longer and decided to go home and try to eat some breakfast and hydrate.
Breakfast
Tempeh, frozen grapes, breakfast tea and a bit of almond milk. I had to split this up into two mini meals because I have absolutely no appetite at the moment.
My original plan to hit the gym for a lift on my way to work changed from strength training to some steady state cardio on the elliptical. When you are sick, or feel like your getting sick, it's really important to listen to your body to determine exactly what is going to benefit it most. Fitness Professionals have varying opinions on whether or not you should work out when you are under the weather.
Before you hit the gym when you're not feeling well, here are some things to think about:
- What kind of sick are you? If you are nauseous and/or throwing up, or have a fever, increasing your body temperature is not going to be the best thing for you. If you have a cold, depending on your current symptoms, if you can make it through a workout without being completely miserable, you probably wont do any more harm to yourself, as long as you are smart about what you choose to do.
- When we strength train, we see a lot of muscle breakdown in comparison to cardiovascular activities. If our bodies are busy fighting off some sort of illness, they aren't going to be able to respond to muscle breakdown as well. When we don't allow time for rest and repairing of the muscle tissues, injuries occur, and we may take some energy away from our body's defensive system decreasing our chances of getting well anytime soon. Some low-impact, steady state cardio such as walking, biking or the elliptical are great options.
- There may be benefits of "sweating it out." Although we can't literally sweat out an illness, we can increase oxygen uptake to our organs and lymphatic system by elevating the heart rate a bit. Getting the blood pumping allows for the transport of nutrients throughout the body which is important for any sort of recovery. Some people also find that their congestion lessens with cardiovascular exercise so that may be of benefit to you as well.
- Anything over 30 minutes of high impact activity is going to suppress our immune system for the next 24 hours, not ideal for someone trying to fight off a cold/flu.
- All in all, we need to listen to our bodies. Remember, when we are at rest is when we are rebuilding and actually getting stronger and making progress in fitness. If we don't allow our bodies adequate rest time, especially when our immune system is lowered due to illness, exercise may cause more harm than good. Whether you decide to workout or not, definitely focus on fluid intake. Water should be your best friend!
Question of the Morning:
Do you work out when your sick? What types of things do you do?
My suggestion for someone who really feels like exercise will benefit them while sick is always some sort of light cardio with stretching and maybe some foam rolling thrown in. Length of the workout should be enough time to get the blood flowing and maybe work up a light sweat, but not long enough to fatigue yourself.
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