Working out becomes addictive at a certain level. For most that’s once you start seeing results from all of your hard work. Once you hit the point, you want to continue on to your goals. Illness and sickness really set that back; personally I find myself faced with the question of if I should work out when I’m sick, every time I’m in that situation.
Should you work out while sick? Follow these simple steps to find out.
Luckily for me, I don’t get sick too often. That said, I am a allergy/sinus suffer and if you are like me, when these not so fun aliments hit you, they hit hard and unexpectedly . But I’m also a competitor and part of that responsibility is to build enough muscle so that my overall appearance is lean and healthy looking. Personally, when I’m sick I run the risk of loosing muscle because I have no appetite, so I’m not eating enough coupled with the fact that I’m not working out so I’m not even getting any new muscle development. So here are my personal tricks that I do when I’m sick and still need to work out:
A. Know your body. I know my body very well and I know what I am capable of doing in my best health conditions and my worst. When I have allergies or a slight cold, I still work out, I just decrease the weight to an amount that I can comfortably handle without hurting myself. This is a judgement call that I have to make. I don’t allow someone else’s opinion on what I should do here weigh in…..unless they’re my doctor. If my allergy or sinus’ are bothering me, I also reduce the intensity of my cardio or skip it all together. It can be hard to breath with a stuffy nose when you’re out of breath from running. Be smart about your choices.
B. Know your illness. Is your arm broken or are you having a sinus infection? Depending on what the illness or injury is you may still be able to do minor things, but you may have to modify them for your situation. Talk to your doctor, be honest about your lifestyle and come up with a plan that works for your fitness goals and your health goals.
C. Get plenty of rest and keep the rest of the day light. Since you’ll be exerting more energy than you probably have right now, make sure to try to take it easy the rest of the day, get plenty of rest and drink plenty of water.
Working out while sick or injured is totally possible, just be smart about it so you don’t run the risk of injuring yourself further and make sure you listen to your body. If you just don’t have the energy to do it, then don’t
*I am not a doctor. Always consult your physician before exercising or exercising while sick or injured to make sure you are healthy enough to do it. These are things that I have done and they may help someone in a similar situation….but ask your doc first 😉
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