Should You Workout With a Cold?
Tis the season when people start (or return to) a strict workout schedule. It also happens to be cold and flu season. So – no surprise – the question of working out with a cold is one I get periodically on the forums.
As it turns out, exercising with a cold doesn’t seem to affect either exercise performance or severity/duration of symptoms.
For what it’s worth: as long as I don’t have a fever, I’ve found working out to be generally beneficial…especially when I have a thtuffy nothe. It may not be the best time to strive for a personal best, perhaps, but there’s no doubt that I actually feel better for doing a workout, vs. just sitting around feeling rotten.
So, to make a long story short: go for it…don’t let a minor upper respiratory illness throw you off schedule, if it can be avoided.
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Paul on 28 Dec 2008 at 11:05 pm #
One point I’d like to make…
When considering working out with a cold, consider your fellow gym-mates. There’s nothing that irritates me more than someone sneezing and coughing and generally spreading his or her germs all over the place – when I come for a workout, I don’t expect to worry about catching something myself.
While I agree that working out always makes feel better, regardless of how bad I feel, there is something to be said for staying out of the gym at peak hours when you’re at the most contagious stages of your illness. So yes, work out if possible, but please disinfect your equipment and if you’re really sick… stay home!
Elissa on 29 Dec 2008 at 6:29 am #
Assuming that one works out in a gym in the first place…
But rather than depend on others to disinfect their equipment, I follow two rules when I’m in the gym:
1. I always thoroughly wash my hands when I’m done with my workout.
2. I always keep my hands away from my face. If I have sweat dripping from the end of my nose, for example, I’ll grab a towel or paper towel. If I have to push my hair away from my face, I do it with my forearm. I don’t carry drinks in with me either (so I don’t accidentally touch the mouthpiece with my hands); and don’t chew gum/suck on mints.
This helps me avoid any serious consequences of handling contaminated surfaces…and is good for enteric viruses as well as rhinoviruses.
Rob on 06 Jan 2009 at 8:53 pm #
I can’t ‘run with the pack’ on this one. As for my own history it has been best to just shut down for a few days. The added rest pays huge dividends for me in recovery.
However I am convinced that my overall fitness from training helps me recover must faster than when I was mnore sedentary years ago.
My sentiments of working out in the presence of others is much like Pauls.