Do you work out when you've got a cold?
 

I was on a bit of a streak and then yesterday woke up with a sore throat. I decided to take the day off bc I didn't want to make myself sicker. But then in the evening, when it was really too late for me to go out, regretted it bc I felt full of energy. I don't feel terrible today at all, just a little hoarse and a little cough. I think I'm gonna go for a couple of miles... What do you guys do in this sort of situation?

I follow the above the neck only, no fever rule.

This question always baffles me when people ask it - no disrespect. I can't possibly imagine what the reason would be to NOT exercise.... I mean if you are exhausted you probably want to rest, but you can't possibly make a virus worse by exercising....

You might not be able to make a virus worse, but you could cause other problems depending on the type of virus. Or it might be something other than a virus.

This article pretty much covers how I decide if I need to skip my planned workout. http://www.active.com/triathlon/Arti...sing_while_ill

Thanks for the article, Nicole! The myocarditis part freaked me out a little bc my dh exercises through anything and everything. I'm not worried that what I've got could be remotely serious.

Originally Posted by CherryPie99:
This question always baffles me when people ask it - no disrespect. I can't possibly imagine what the reason would be to NOT exercise.... I mean if you are exhausted you probably want to rest, but you can't possibly make a virus worse by exercising....

I think it may be true (though I have no idea, really) that you cannot make a virus worse by exercising, but I do think if you exhaust yourself or even just use up a lot of energy on exercising, you're gonna have less reserves to fight the virus with. In my experience, resting and getting plenty of sleep while sick seems to make illnesses resolve sooner. It makes sense to me that exercise would do the opposite.

I've been going a little easier on my workouts the last week or so because my allergies/sinus issues have been making me light headed & hard workouts make it worse.

That said, I definitely believe in resting when I'm sick so my body can focus on getting well & fighting off whatever virus/infection/etc. I may have. The reason we can feel so tired when sick is because our bodies are trying to tell us to rest.

Ughhh... I would have said yes. I've exercised with a bit of a cold. But today I have a bad tummy - feel queasy and rumbly. I decided not to go to hot yoga. I wish I'd exercised earlier in the day when I was feeling fine.

I listen to my body and follow that neck-up rule. If it's a head cold/sore throat but no lung involvement, and if I have the energy to do it then there's no reason not to exercise. Although I would avoid the gym so as not to spread my cold. If I'm feeling particularly fatigued or if I have lung involvement I will either not exercise or keep it short and gentle.