It has been that time of the year again and the sickness is spreading around.
What are your ideas/opinions on training while sick? I have been nursing a nagging cough (probably Bronchitis - have not taken any meds for it either) for over a month now and it is clearing up. So I went out the other day for a ride, nothing hard and half way into it had a coughing fit. Wasn’t really fun.
You all just grin and bear it and force it out of your system or do you wait until fully healed before picking back up the training?
Just wanted some thoughts of others (just to see how much of a wuss I am).
Don’t stress your body out more than it already is when you are sick. Rest, recover, and then train. Otherwise you will stay sick longer, have a poorer recovery, and not be as strong. If you want to stay active then do something low key. Go for a long walk somewhere and enjoy the fresh air.
It has been that time of the year again and the sickness is spreading around.
What are your ideas/opinions on training while sick? I have been nursing a nagging cough (probably Bronchitis - have not taken any meds for it either) for over a month now and it is clearing up. So I went out the other day for a ride, nothing hard and half way into it had a coughing fit. Wasn’t really fun.
You all just grin and bear it and force it out of your system or do you wait until fully healed before picking back up the training?
Just wanted some thoughts of others (just to see how much of a wuss I am).
thanks
I don’t stop working out, but I do reduce the intensity of the workout by about 60-80%, depending on how I’m feeling.
I find it best to shake the brunt of the sickness by completely resting for the first few days and then resuming light training. Some people train right through, but I think that puts too much stress on the body. A day off when sick isn’t a traditional “off” day since you’re body is essentially still working, it’s just trying to fight off the virus instead of recovering from a workout. And, even if you don’t buy that, as long as you have plenty of training in the bank, a few days off is not going to throw you back to square one. The longer you have been consistently training, the longer it takes for your body to decondition.
Last month I had a cold for about 10 days. I took maybe 3 days completely off and then did some light training for the rest of it and actually came back more fit (as indicated by swim and run workouts) than I had been before I was sick. I was rested mentally and physically and came back itching to get into training again.
In short: don’t feel guilty about taking time off while your sick. Take it easy now so you don’t have to later!
I am not a doctor, so I can only speak from personal experience with bronchitis (I don’t know if that is what you actually have). Don’t train until you’re pretty much over it or it with linger. Only consume really warm to hot foods and liquids with bronchitis because it will loosen the mucus; cold food and drink will cause mucus to harden and “sit.”
From what I have read, if you illness is below the chin, don’t train, but if you have a head cold, it may actually clear your head.
Thanks for the reponses everyone, I dont feel so guilty.
As far as the coughing, I am not too worried about that since by dad and brother are both pulmonologist.
I just really hate this time of year when the kids bring the kennel cough home from school or daycare as well as the weater being nice one day and total crap the next.
I currently have bronchitis. I am on my 5th day of complete rest from exercise. I am starting to feel mostly better. Hopefully only a couple more days off and then I will start light exercise. It was hard for me to take all this time off, but I know that if I exercise through it, I am only going to prolong the illness. I don’t get sick very often, so this is very strange for me…
During winter I use a Tacx trainer that sort of measures watts. It’s been interesting to see after 4 years of winter riding and getting sick during the winter (I too have kids). What I have learned is that once the symptoms have cleared, thee is a period of maybe 7 days when you still can’t do the same level of work, despit feeling normal. A couple week back, I had the flu for real and this period stretched for over 2 weeks.
I guess the need for some easier work in the week(s) after symptoms have cleared is indicated, rather than trying to hurry back into some rigid training plam