Do you exercise when you are ill

[rayinpenn]

A week or so the Mrs came down with a nasty cold. Of course a few days ago Im sick - not as bad as her but clogged, runny noise etc. Then I wake up with a toothache and Im miserable. Off to the dentist and its an old root canal thats inflamed. Of course Its under a massive bridge (paddle ball accident years ago) and he cant do another RC until Thursday. He gives me a prescription for antibiotics. One day later the pain is gone. No complaints mind you this is all small stuff.

Bottom line three days I didn’t walk. It was rainy but I could have hit my stationary Bike. I felt drained but I could have pushed myself.

Good news its sunny out I do still have congestion but I am getting out there.

Update:
I got out there I’m feeling good about it.

 

[frayne]

I try to walk, rain, snow or shine even when I'm not feeling up to it. When I'm finished, I'm usually happy I did.

 

[T-Minus]

Yes, but scale back realistically. If Peloton, I’ll do a shorter class. Walking? Do a reduced loop. Mountain Biking? If able to balance properly....maybe (last flu effected my balance). Then, when I’m back to health, I’ll work on getting myself back to where I was pre-sickness. In summary, I listen to my body and act accordingly.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When young I exercised sick or not. Now I rest until I feel like resuming.

 

[Philliefan33]

I’m at the end (I hope) of a cold that has lasted ten days. On the three days that I was sickest, I opted for yoga on two days and nothing on one. All other days it has been workout as usual, which for me this time of year is a couple of hours of pickleball per day plus either weight training or yoga.

You have to listen to your body.

 

[W2R]

Like others here, I just got over a miserable 10 day cold that my dear F had also (he caught it from me, oh well!).

Anyway, we skipped the gym on just one day because we felt so miserable we honestly didn't think we could drag ourselves inside.

We go to the gym on MWF. The other gym days while we were sick, we made ourselves go to the gym despite feeling like poop warmed over. I must admit that I lowered the intensity of my exercise on a few of those gym days. But we went there and gave it our best shot.

For us, that was the best solution because going to the gym is a habit, and if we stopped going completely when sick then we might stop going entirely.

 

[pacergal]

I follow the old medical advice: fluids, rest, recover.
If my body is telling me to rest, I am not going to push things. I just get back to normal when I feel better.
I am currently fighting a cold also. Kids and grands all were sick in the last two weeks, so I guess its my turn!

 

[COcheesehead]

I exercise every day, but when I am sick, I try and get more sleep. I find that helps more than anything.

 

[athena53]

I try to regardless. A couple of months ago I got a nasty sinus infection and tried to pay attention to my body; most of my workouts during that time were shortened and there was one day when I just couldn't stand the idea of any exercise so I took the day off. (The next day I went to UrgentCare and got it diagnosed and treated.)

 

[friar1610]

When young I exercised sick or not. Now I rest until I feel like resuming.

^ Either this or cut back to just a walk so that I'm at least moving for 30-45 minutes a day.

 

[Red Badger]

I exercise every day, but when I am sick, I try and get more sleep. I find that helps more than anything.

+1. I rest until I am ready to ease back in. Fluids, sleep, rest until I'm on the mend.

If just a cold, light exercise plus Zi-Cam or Cold-Eze (early on and well after.)

 

[Walt34]

I follow the old medical advice: fluids, rest, recover.
If my body is telling me to rest, I am not going to push things. I just get back to normal when I feel better.

What she said is what I do.

If it's not too bad I'll do a shortened version but generally if I'm sick I'll just rest.

 

[mystang52]

For me, when I start to get sick I have to hunker down and make sure I've turned the corner before resuming exercise. The other mantra (I have no idea if it's medically accurate or not) is that if symptoms are above the neck then it's OK to exercise, below neck you need to rest. I just finished 3 days of rest because of a cold, and ran today. Tomorrow, back to the swimming pool.
5 hours after my run, no recurring symptoms.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I usually go at least 2-3 years between colds/flus, but when I do, it's pretty bad. I will sleep for 10-12 hours a night when I'm sick...and no exercise for me.

 

[Ronstar]

I sometimes won’t lift weights or run if I get a nasty cold. Maybe take a day off or 2 a year because of just not feeling up to it. But I go hiking through colds, etc. Short of appendicitis 15 years ago, I haven’t been too ill to stop all exercise.

 

[ls99]

My normal workout is about an hour, sometimes more, non stop, I do not take rest breaks. If feeling under the weather, I still go through the motions but use no power in punches, kicks or blocks and just do gentle body rolls for falling techniques.
I call it judicious arm waving. Then hit the sauna for a 20 minute snooze.

 

[Dawg52]

I follow the old medical advice: fluids, rest, recover.
If my body is telling me to rest, I am not going to push things. I just get back to normal when I feel better.

I do the same. Unfortunately, my body tells me to not push things way too often. Or maybe that's just my personality....

 

[Bir48die]

During day one or two of a cold I don't do anything. Usually Day 1 I'm in bed. Day 2 I'll stick around the house and maybe get out. Since I spend considerable time in the gym it is my goal to not get others sick. By day 4 I need to do something so will return after I'm no longer risking other's health. If it's a summer cold then I'll golf in the first few days.

I have worked out too early several times and have only made whatever I have worse.

 

[Rianne]

I try to stay away from people if I'm contagious. But I don't like laying around feeling crappy, so I'll at least go outside and walk.

 

[Katiek]

Depends on how sick I feel. If I really don't have the energy or feel dizzy, then I'm fine resting and will exercise when I feel better. Sometimes your body just needs rest. But if it's something where I can do it, but just don't feel as well, then I'll try although I may scale it back a bit and do something shorter.

 

[eytonxav]

I am not sure how this plays into your illness, but it's never a bad idea to take a week off from exercise every three months or so, especially if you are resistance training. That said, if you are sick please do not bring your germs to the gym and spread them all over the equipment.

 

[irishgal]

I have a friend who is a cardiologist and elite athlete, he always said if the symptoms were above the throat (nose runny, maybe slight headache, slight sore throat) you could exercise if you wished, anything below (chest, stomach) was a no.

Sort of followed that, with some tweaks to correct for age lol.

 

[harllee]

I hope you folks who are contagious are staying away from the gym. When I think I am contagious I stay home and do yoga on my own and ride my stationary bike. Please don't go to the gym when you are contagious!!

 

[karen1972]

walking only when I'm sick..

 

[Car-Guy]

No exercising for me when I'm feeling ill... Been feeling sort of sick every day since I retired.