Training while sick - What do you do?

Triathlon Forum
1

This is something I am really curious about because for the past few decades I have taken all approaches from not training at all to training right through the cold. Lately (as I am older) I do more of the former. However, part of me wishes I didn’t as it takes me weeks to get better sometimes and this ‘sitting around’ seriously effects my fitness and my mood. When I ran track and xc all the way back to HS, I’d run through it, and I would get mixed results. Sometimes subsequently I would end up with Pneumonia or Bronchitis and would be forced to stop training. In other situations, when I would train through a sickness, I’d get better and have had some of my best races while still sick - both in HS and early on with Triathlon. There are times where I haven’t gotten sick for a few years, and years where I have gotten sick almost every other month. I’d say on average, I get sick more than most and for longer than most. Most colds take 1-3 weeks to get over AND, in many cases, this is with FULL resting.

I remember hearing once that ‘if it is neck and above’ to train. If it is below the neck (lungs), to stop. I have adhered to that in the past, however it comes with two problems for me. First is, there are times when I have ‘been about to be sick’ and had a slight sore throat, but, took the proper early precautions and didn’t become sick. Can think of a lot of instances where my wife got sick and I didn’t because I decided to rest, eat super clean, etc… I can also think of many times where I thought 'maybe it’s allergies (and, it wasn’t), continue to train, and get a really bad cold… I do truly believe that this is the most important time when you are sick to defeat the cold early (or, make it significantly shorter) since you innate immune system still has a chance. Second problem with this logic (of above the neck / below the neck) is that my colds almost always seem to be sore throat, then stuffy or nose, then cough (and in that order). If I piss off my immune system more somewhere along that process, then it starts to ‘repeat’ and in addition when the cough comes, it is usually much worse and lasts a lot longer. There have been times where I have actually skipped having a cough altogether and just went throught the first two symptoms. However, this is very rare… In addition, to make matters more confusing, there have been times in the past where a little bit of training toward the end of a cold helped me when I had a cough and/or stuffy nose, as it made the mucus expulsion more productive…

I’m curious as to what other people here do. I’m also curious that if any of you are doctors, might do - essentially what does the science say? All my docs are runners so they are indifferent. If I tell them I want to run, they’ll just say, ‘play it by ear’, or ‘go ahead’.

I am alas asking this question here, because, yes, I am sick again… A summer cold (which is very rare for me), and it doesn’t seem to be that bad. Part of me wants to train. And, the other part isn’t sure. I’m sure a lot of these varied results has to do with various factors, perhaps the most of which, might be the strand of cold/virus/bacteria I am dealing with (which, one is almost never sure of…). I do have to say I am quite jealous, when I see others train through colds and almost always get better no matter what… Wondering what I could be doing wrong…

Thanks for reading…

2

What’s the benefit of training while sick? I too used to “run through it” when young. There’s no reason to submit your cardiopulmonary system to that much stress. I ran through a horrific asthma exacerbation in January and it was not worth it.

3

Everyone is different but there are a lot of things that affect us the same. If it is truly just a cold then shut it down for a few days and let your body heal. If it doesn’t get better in a few days then shutting it down was the right thing to do.

I used to use the above/below the neck symptom check as well to guide my training when feeling ill. I think it’s a fairly good rule of thumb. But, I also believe the hearsay I’ve read on the forum where training sick can lead to long term health issues; i.e. heart problems. You don’t have to look too far down the forum postings to find lots of users dealing with afib etc. Who knows?

If you are training to put bread on the table and pay the bills then by all means train, otherwise, give your body a break and let it heal. You’ll be back at it in no time.

4

What’s the benefit of training while sick? I too used to “run through it” when young. There’s no reason to submit your cardiopulmonary system to that much stress. I ran through a horrific asthma exacerbation in January and it was not worth it.

Maybe I’m an outlier but I still try to do the sports at least once every couple days . May just spin the legs for 30min at 100w or jog 5-10min. I find my injury risk increases significantly or I have to dumb down training for quite a bit on return if I don’t. My body likes frequency or shuts down. I still usually have a day or two completely off just may not be back to back. Nothing over z2 for sure. That said, I haven’t been super sick in a number of years just some colds, so maybe I’d feel differently if it was worse. How much I back down depends on the symptoms, I listen to my body. Usually convert to a rest week if feeling iffy immediately.

5

I don’t train through as it takes me so much more time to recover otherwise.

I’ve had a cold on and off for the last 2.5 months - it is winter here. Have got better, trained for 3-4 days, then get sick again. It is so frustrating. Have got back into training about 3-4 times to only get sick again after 3 to 4 days. And then I’ve had another 1.5 to 2 weeks off until i get better, start training and then the cycle repeats.

I’m immunocompromised as a type 1 diabetic so it has never made much sense to train whilst sick - although i used to do this a lot when i was much younger. Colds seem to take so much longer to recover from now.

6

I’d add to what others are saying by never underestimating the sickness taper for shedding fatigue leading to a good performance
.

7

For me, I want to get over it as quickly as possible, so I try to avoid putting extra stress on my immune system. Especially for a respiratory illness.

I continue doing some functional strength and flexibility work just to keep moving a bit. And focus on good diet and as much sleep as I can get.

8

If I feel I’m getting sick, I stick to an easy swim bike or run.

Then I pretty much eat watever ever I’m craving, but no alcohol or caffeine ever gets into my diet

And sleep and rest a lot.

And then 90% of the time I’m better or not getting worse within that day.

I feel I haven’t gotten really multiday sick in many years. COVID lasted a few days, but easy trained/ate/napped right though it and was never more than mildly sore ribs, sporadic cough and night sweats.

It’s pretty much my go-to now, if I feel that sick feeling coming on to jump in the pool or go for a ride or run and I’m feeling great within the hour.

No high intensity or duration longer than 60-90 minutes though.

9

I used to push through but take it as easy as possible - e.g. riding to the pool, I’d get a crazy amount of phlegm/fluid coughed up / out of the system - rather than it probably lingering in a post nasal drop type situation.

So I think by some mild stimulation, I decreased the length of sickness.

10

Rest; a sick body is not trainable
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11

I was told by a doctor that training while sick can still be beneficial if you are able to rest enough to recover from both the sickness and training. If you can’t rest enough, don’t train. Plus the common sense stuff, stay vigilant about hydration and nutrition, etc.

He also gave me 3 rules to determine if it is safe to train. Keep in mind these rules are for an otherwise healthy athlete and wouldn’t apply to everyone:
Coughing is OK but stop if the exercise itself induces coughing.Stop if the exercise causes higher than expected heart rateHe gave me a 3rd but it was so bizarre that I thought “you didn’t have to tell me that, even *I *would stop if that happened”. It was something weird like bleeding simultaneously from all orifices.