Exercising While Being Sick

Home Fitness While Being Sick

So you wake up one morning with a raging fever and terrible diarrhea - should you go for a run? Duh - use your head and stay in bed. But what if you have a slight case of the sniffles?

Home Fitness Exercise Step #1

Assess your symptoms. If your troubles are above the neck, moderate exercise is probably OK. For example, if you have a cold and no fever, a walk may be fine.

Home Fitness Exercise Step #2

If you have flu-like symptoms and a fever, rest.

Home Fitness Exercise Step #3

Do not work out hard for at least a couple of weeks if you’re really sick. Your body needs to concentrate on healing.

Home Fitness Exercise Step #4

Start slowly when you return to exercising. You will have lost some strength, but it will come back faster with patience. Don’t beat yourself up and get sick again.

Home Fitness Exercise Step #5

Sleep, sleep, sleep. Your body needs the rest time to repair the immune system. Also, if you are stepping up the exercise intensity quite a bit, you may even need more sleep. Try for at least 8 hours per night.

Exercise Tips & Warnings

• Eat a well-balanced diet, using the USDA’s food pyramid as your guideline. (See Related Sites.)
• Don’t try to lose weight too quickly - anything beyond 1 to 2 pounds per week is too much and is taxing to your body.
• Alternate really hard workouts with easier, recovery workouts. You will see a greater increase in fitness if your body has time to repair the muscles that have been taxed.
• Listen to your body and consult your physician if you are unsure of when to resume exercise after an illness. This advice is not intended to substitute for that of your physician.

Make your first priority to get better as no one wants to be sick for a long time. Moving around is important when feeling sick but too much exercise will just drain your body. Don’t aim for weight loss or improve for fitness level when sick but maintenance and your well-being is the focus.
Have a great day and God bless!