Should you put your feet up, or keep climbing when you're sick?
To Wii (-Fit), or not to Wii, that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the gym to brave the sniffles and sneezes of outrageous workouts, or to take naps amid a sea of Kleenex, and by resting, get healthy?
Hamlet, Hamthrax… work with me here.
Just because people think I’m nuts doesn’t mean I’m going to pass up an opportunity for a headline pun like that, people. It’s like leaving an AFK PvP-flagged member of the opposite faction un-ganked. The easiest way to avoid temptation is to give in to it.
However, what if the temptation in question is to keep up your usual fitness routine when you’re coming down with the Devouring Plague… or maybe just the Creeping Crud?
The short answer, of course, is, “it depends.” Since that’s not exactly helpful when it comes to making a decision, there are times when exercise is both recommended, and advised against. Of course, listen to both your body and your doctor.
Gym rat or plague rat?
The easiest way to choose is by asking yourself, “Do I feel like complete crap?” If the answer is yes, rest and recover. Not only will this let your body put its resources towards getting healthy, you won’t be in a position to share whatever bug you’ve got with the other folks at the gym. There has been some research showing that extremely strenuous workouts actually tax the immune system, which, in the long term, could make it easier for you to catch a cold. The general consensus is that you’ll do yourself a world of good, both in terms of staving off illness as well as avoiding injury (and even help your workout progress) by taking a week completely off every eight to twelve weeks.
If you’re not feeling like death warmed over, the smartest thing to do is listen to your body. By and large, if you’re feeling well enough to give things a shot, a light workout (especially a brisk walk) may help get your body on the road to recovery a little faster, even if you don’t trigger an endorphin rush for an immediate feel-good experience. However, you don’t want to do anything taxing if you’re running a fever, since your body is already making your heart work hard by running hot, and getting even warmer through exertion isn’t a great idea.
A good rule of thumb is that if you’re only suffering from the neck up, you can still work out. A sore throat or the sniffles shouldn’t necessarily keep you from doing your thing. Just make extra certain to keep hydrated, and take it easy.
The other big thing you should do, no matter where on the scale of sickness you fall, is make sure to get plenty of sleep.
No matter what kind of illness you’re coming back from once it passes, ease back into things, rather than trying to jump right back in where you left off. The track, elliptical, and weights aren’t going anywhere.
Flu season is fast approaching. It’s definitely a bug, not a feature.
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