What to do when you have a horrible cold,,,,

[morgs]

Just wanted to get some direction or a little advice. Usually I would know better, but I always get stuck when I get sick. I have been suffering from a MAJOR cold. Stuffy head, very sore throat, runny nose,,,all that awesome stuff that comes with a cold; I know for sure that when you have the flu you are supposed to rest and take it easy , BUT, when you have a cold, what is recommended as far as work outs go ? I really , really HATE to let more than two days go between work outs. I did Kick Max in its entirety Sunday ( all the huffin and puffin made my sore throat worse ) , did Imax2 Monday ( again huffing and puffin really hurt ) took yesturday off and REALLY want to work out again tonight. ( I have 4DS Bootcamp w/ Bis & tris scheduled in my work out calendar )Everyone at work is saying : "ahh,,,take the week off so you can get better" a friend of mine is saying,,"work out for sure, but maybe do low impact" then another friend is saying "oh give er hell,,,it's the only way you'll build up your immune system" I know it's not that tough of a descision, but wondering what types of work outs everyone else out there does when they are not feeling well. Any suggestions are very appreciated !!

Thanks !!
Morgs

 

[kathryn]

A cold is a strain on your immune system, as is the flu.

Adding workouts on top of an illness (unless it's very mild, then sometimes a moderate or mild workout can actually help boost immune response by raising body temperature) just takes your body's energies away from recovering.

Rest and let your body recover. Otherwise, something that would have lasted 2-4 days with rest can drag on for a week or two.

Get extra sleep, take lots of fluids (water, brothy soups--that contain electrolytes) and eat foods high in vitamin C.

 

[Gayle]

Everyone at work is saying : "ahh,,,take the week off so you can get better"

Listen to these people. Currently, it sounds like you're trying to beat your immune system into submission...bad.

Kathryn's recommendations are spot on.

 

[morgs]

working out with a cold

Hi Katheryn


Thank you for your quick reply. ( I was afraid you'd day that though ! )

It is SO HARD to not work out, but,,you are right. This cold is the WORST I think I have ever had so I would call it pretty severe. Though I want to work out in the worst way, I also want this cold to get the hell out of here even more so thanks again ,,,always good to hear good advice !

Take care and HAPPY HOLIDAYS !!

Morgs

 

[morgs]

Response to Gayle

Listen to these people. Currently, it sounds like you're trying to beat your immune system into submission...bad.

Kathryn's recommendations are spot on.

Thank you as well Gayle,,,sounds like I need to cool it. I may even head to the Dr. just to make sure that I don't have some sort of virus, so ,,,,good advice !!

BTW: Couldn't help but notice that you have the cutest pic of a boxer !! Love it. We have a boxer as well ( Scoobie )! They are the coolest to have around aren't they ?? Happy Holidays to you as well.

 

[elsie3]

I really, really HATE to let more than two days go between work outs.

Doing a gentle, restorative yoga workout helps me with this. I'm doing "something" but I'm helping my body instead of stressing it. Kundalini yoga (if you can handle the "strangeness") is excellent for this. There are some exercises specifically for immunity. Suzanne Deason's GAIAM yoga workouts also work well. She has a yoga for stress release and there was a restorative practice on the same DVD, if I remember correctly.

HTH

 

[morgs]

Yoga for sickies

Yoga is a great stand in. Good idea ! Turns out, I have a few of the 'Namaste Yoga' series on DVD that I got a few years back. Saw them on FitTV and fell in love with those about the same time as I fell in love with Cathe's work outs.

Know what I need to get for future referance ,,is,, 'Stretch Max.' I realized that I don't have this one yet and would be perfect cold & flu times.

Thank you !!

 

[pinkquinn]

I juice every fruit and veg in the house and drink it, allll day every day, until the nasty little virus is deeeeeeeeeeead. This is a great time to be lazy and rest and feel totally legitimized!

 

[horseshowmom]

I've always heard that a general rule of thumb is if your symptoms are above your shoulders/neck (stuffy nose, sore throat) that it is ok to exercise as you feel able. If symptoms are below the neck (chest cold, flu) it's best to rest.
I hope you feel better soon!

Becky

 

[maddiesmum]

Kathryn has it completely right. No need to further stress your body by adding exercise on top of a nasty cold. Exercise is just that: stress upon the body.

I am on day three of a cold myself, combined with nasty stress headaches. I will not exercise until the cold is on the way out because I really do not need to make myself feel like shit by attempting a workout I really have to fight hard to get through, which is the situation you have been describing.

What's the point in that?

Clare