[Vickie C.]

Dear Cathe,

I have always wondered how hard should I push myself when I'm ill. I usually do a workout no matter what, unless I'm really sick. At the moment I have some respiratory gunk. Last week I was on antibiotics and had a fever for 5 days. Needless to say, I took a couple days off then. I still have a couph, and I have been trying to push through it. It is so frustrating though. I end up hyper-ventilating and couphing like crazy. I just hate trying to come back from an illness. My question is this; should I continue to "push it" and just get through the workout, or should I stick to weight training until this stuff is completely out of my lungs? Intellectually speaking, I know that I'm sick and that's why the workouts have been so hard, but emotionally I feel like a quitter and a wuss. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Vickie