SICK

way to go! It's hard to know when to exercise when you're sick. Keep up the good work and feel better!

Had a bad cold the last two weeks and tried to exercise toward the end of week one and just got worse. I think it prolonged the cold. So I learned my lesson. No exercising when I am sick. Due to the prolonged cold, and since I did not do any activity I gained, but that is okay. I was told it was all of the cough syrup I had. So starting fresh now. Feeling better and ready to exercise again.

No one has had more experience with illness and a strong motivation to exercise than me. I am a pro at how to workout when ill, and thereby enhance recovery. I have been jogging for 40 years, added ballet, hiking, biking, aerobics, yoga, pilates, and strength training after age 35 (am now age 55). Normally, I am very active. I also have spent nearly five years in bed since age 32 with lung (chest) infections. Five serious illnesses took me over a year to recover from each of them.

Drink about 5-8 bottles ( not glasses!) of water each day. Flush out toxins and increase movement of mucus and fluids in your body with increased water. Try the Dr. Neil Sinus Rinse. This inexpensive, over-the-counter treatment helps to flush irritants and virus/bacteria out of your sinuses (get it at the drugstore).

Plan an active time of day, and rest time of day. Depending on the illness and your energy level, this might be one hour up in morning and afternoon and the rest of the day resting/sleeping. As you improve, walk for exercise. Start with walking around the inside of your house, then around the outside of it. Gradually walk to the mailbox as you are able. Do this twice daily as energy allows. Walk a little further as your body allows.

If you are more tired later in the day or the next day, you walked too far. Back off and do less. Let your energy and body be your guide. Only you can tell you how far you can go. No one lives in your body but you so you are your best guide. Don't allow the exercise to make your fatigue increase, or you will extend the length of your recovery.

Stretch while you are in bed resting. Stretch you neck doing neck circles. Reach to your toes, and bring your knee to your armpit. Extend arms out to each side, and turn your shoulders so your palms are up and down. Find other lying stretches you can do in bed.

While sitting upright, roll your shoulders forward and back twenty times each. Do arm stretches above your head and also ones to pull your shoulders back.

Add yoga and/or pilates using DVD or a class in your town for direction and guidance. Start with 10-15 minutes, and work up to an hour as your energy increases.

Stretch and walk daily as much as you can without increasing your level of fatigue. Keep moving throughout your illness to keep blood flow moving, but be very gentle with yourself.

Another example of activity is to lift weights at home, sans the weights! Pretend that you are lifting weights to go through the motions and get blood moving and stretch. Add weight as you increase strength to normal.

I became ill with a lung infection in May of 2012. I was fully recovered by April of 2013. In March I was diagnosed with a lung disease, Bronchiectitis, which apparently I had since contracting pneumonia in 1989. Am still getting my strength back so that I can run again, but I walked and stretched through all of this illness.

Keep moving gently and slowly, and drink tons of water. Follow the directions of your physician and get well soon!

With the sickness you're fighting, I would definitely take some rest days! Heather made a good point about setting your cals to maintenance so you're not eating and tracking like you would on a typical workout day.

Feel better soon!!

You need downtime....and that includes from walking. Getting exercise while you are sick can prolong the illness. Your body needs energy to fight off the infection, and if you're expending energy exercising.....guess what your body is having a harder time doing?!

Taking a few down days is not going to ruin your progress. It is better to take a few days off to recover than to spend a few weeks laid up because you made thing harder on your body.

I NEVER exercise when I'm sick (everyone is different though). This is killing me not to exercise, but I would rather spend a few days resting while sick than exercising and making the sickness work. It's ok to take a rest. I'm almost 100% again (got a cold last week) and right now it's in the 90s here. Just waiting for the heat to subside (I overheat easily in humidity). You can start up again when you feel better.

Thank you...

Maybe someone else telling me I need to slow down will help!

:)

Yeah, sit on your bum and focus on healing. I would even set your calories to maintenance, since your body needs them for healing. Worry about weight loss after you recover... the last thing you need is pneumonia!

Duh... Sorry. I have a sore throat and chest infection.

What kind of "sick" are we talking about? Above the neck, you're probably okay, as long as you're comfortable doing so, though you can expect to push less intensely and should probably avoid the really hard stuff. A good walk might actually help you feel better.

If it's in your chest though, best to just rest and recover.

Hey everyone!!

Everyone says "exercise is the best medicine"...

So I am sick and on meds but I still feel like I should work out. I have been walking but not pushing myself too hard. What do you do when you are sick?

I would love ideas