Exercising When You’re Feeling Sick

Exercising When You’re Feeling Sick

There are some people who will make any excuse to avoid exercise. This article is not for them, rather, it’s for those who like to keep active and moving, even when they are not at their optimum.

If you’re feeling under the weather and you still want to be active, you need to check a few things first. While being active through regular fitness is important, you need to be smart and safe with your health!

Try to determine if your physical activity is the root cause

Did you exercise every day for a week, and now are starting to feel under the weather? Have you been playing at your max and now your max isn’t your usual high energy output? It could be that you just need a day or so of rest before going full into it again. If you’re not sure how you feel, take a self-assessment. Will you make yourself worse, or get other people sick? Is this physical activity really that important? Can you miss the game, or skip that workout?

Do an, “above the neck check”.

If you have a stuffy nose, sore throat or even a bit of sneezing, you might be fine to do mild exercise. Make sure you start off slow and see how you feel after about 10 minutes. If you feel that you aren’t getting any worse, keep going at a reduced pace. If you feel worse… stop!

If you feel that the symptoms are coming from below the neck, avoid any intense exercise. If you feel muscle aches, chills, diarrhea and especially if you have a fever above 100ºF, take some time off. You could make things worse by not being smart about it.

Once your symptoms have subsided, take it easy when getting back to your regular activities. Start with a lower intensity for every day you were off.

Just remember, while regular exercise is important and an excellent way to achieve optimum health, you need to take care of yourself when you are under the weather. This will help you achieve your long-term health goals.

Comments
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

About the Author

Chris Boucher

Chris Boucher

Chris Boucher is the founder and owner of Custom Fitness, a popular personal training studio based in Burlington, ON. He is a Personal Trainer Specialist (CanFitPro), Nutrition and Wellness Specialist (CanFitPro), and a Golf Fitness Instructor (Titleist Performance Institute).  He has owned Custom Fitness since 1995. Comments

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Read Bio Read Posts