With cold and flu season quickly approaching many people are faced with the dilemma of whether to workout or not when they feel a cold or flu coming on.
From personal experience and a few scientific studies, I can give you some recommendations, so that you can get well soon but not stall your progress.
Cold or Allergies
First, one must determine whether they are coming down with a cold or seasonal allergies. Many struggle with allergies to rag weeds in the fall, so understanding the difference between allergies and a common cold is a must.
Colds:
- Fatigue
- Sore throat
- Slight fever
- Body aches
- Doesn’t respond to antihistamines
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Allergies:
- Watery and itchy eyes
- No fever
- Itchy throat
- Responds well to antihistamines
Of course both come with sneezing and congestion but knowing the difference will determine how you adjust your workout routine.
Colds and Working Out
I have always found it better to ease up your workouts when feeling a cold coming on. In fact, the best way to get over a cold as quickly as possible is to get as much rest as possible.
Strenuous exercise and lifting weights are designed to send the body into “repair mode”. Therefore bodily resources are taken from the immune system in order to also repair muscles and replenish spent energy supplies.
Here’s what the Journal of Applied Physiology Says:
“Prolonged bouts of strenuous exercise cause a temporary depression of various aspects of immune function (e.g., neutrophil respiratory burst, lymphocyte proliferation, monocyte antigen presentation) that usually lasts ∼3–24 h after exercise, depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise bout.”
So, it’s actually better if you stop or greatly reduce the intensity of your workouts while fighting the cold or flu. You’ll actually get better faster if you allow your body to focus on fighting the infection.
The reference above also noted that regular exercise actually strengthens immunity over the long run, so it will help you to not get as many colds!
Steps to get better faster
As soon as you feel the beginning of the cold symptoms coming on, take action and you’ll be better and back to exercising in a couple of days.
- Take products like Emergen-C and those containing high levels of zinc regularly at the onset.
- Get plenty of rest – at least 8-9 hours of sleep.
- Drink plenty of water and stay well hydrated.
- Eat nutritious foods.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Take ibuprofen.
By taking some time to focus on getting well, you’ll be over your cold or flu quickly and back to working out like a champ.
Otherwise, the cold could last for a week or more doing more damage to your progress in the long run.
