I’m feeling sick. My throat is swollen and scratchy and it’s uncomfortable to swallow. My roommate is sick as well, so I blame her.
Here’s the question: do I work out? Aside from my throat, I feel fine. My energy is good. So is it a good idea, or will it make me worse?
I did a little digging, and here are some guidelines:
If you have a slight cold: Tone down the intensity. If you have a lower energy level, and feel like you are dragging, listen to your body and pull back a bit. Your body needs all the energy it can get to fight your illness and keep it from coming to a head, so don’t make it expel most of it’s energy at the gym.
If you are achey and congested: skip your workout. You are full blown sick and your body needs all the energy it can to heal. Working out can extend how long you are sick at this point.
If you have a fever: this one’s obvious, you need to rest. Also, no one at the gym wants your germs, so keep them to yourself.
Cramps (ladies only): you gotta workout! It might be the last thing you want to do, but working out gets the blood pumping which speeds up the crampy process and aleviates pain.
So where am I? I’d say slight cold, if that, which means I’m off to the gym. To be honest, writing this post was just the kick in the butt I needed, because I was prepared to use my slight sore throat as an excuse. And what does Dave always say? NO EXCUSES!
In (mostly) Good Health,