Exercising when sick - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

bestbefore · 02-17-2004, 04:25 PM

Would it be foolish of me to go for a run and do weights while I have a cold/flu?

Thanks.

msloquacious · 02-17-2004, 04:39 PM

Well, my BF always tells me that when I'm sick, I need to rest; he believes that my body will "burn out" if I push myself too hard when it's trying to fight off something. *shrug* That's my 2 cents!

ironbojangly14 · 02-17-2004, 04:54 PM

YES! dont do it! last year i had the flu and i was totally out of it for 2 weeks. During that time i tryed to go the gym, and i felt so miserable. I couldn't lift as much, my face got all red and i was sweating more than usual and i only lasted 30 minutes before i had to leave. so ya, wait till ur better!

Evl316 · 02-17-2004, 06:39 PM

I don't see it as a problem to exercise when you're sick assuming you aren't too sick. If you feel good enough to exercise then why not? I've gotten some really excellent exercises sessions in when I've had the flu. Granted I wasn't running a high fever and so stuffed up I couldn't breath but if you're just a little achy and tired but still want to exercise I see no problem with it. That is unless, of course, someone posts a message showing me data of where hundreds of otherwise healthy individuals dropped dead after a 20 minute cardio session while suffering from the flu. As far as I'm concerned exercise is what the body is built for (not being a couch potatoe) and to get everything in the body functioning at optimum levels you need exercise (among other things) so if you feel like exercising when sick then go for it.

msloquacious · 02-17-2004, 06:44 PM

Well, I think that if you've only got a sniffly nose, then yeah, go do your workout. However, if you're congested or your respiratory system has been compromised (e.g. cough, congestion, bronchitis, etc) then it will affect the amount and quality of air that gets into your system; at this point, you won't be getting enough oxygen to your muscles/brain! I think sometimes that's why people get light-headed, too.

Also, if you're pushing yourself to the max and doing your full weight sets and cardio, you may find that your body is expending so much energy that it will take you longer to recover from your sickness. That has been my experience, anyway.