The rainy season is a time when many people are very susceptible to colds and flu. If you are a gymer and are sick, perhaps you are worried whether a cold or flu will affect your training? This article may answer your questions.
A cold or the flu are two different illnesses, but both can be exhausting and disrupt your workout. However, in some cases, the disease will be dangerous if you still exercise. So if you have a cold, when can you go to the gym, when should you stay home? Let’s find out with easyhealthylive.com.
Should you exercise if you have a cold?
According to experts, you can still exercise if your symptoms are common such as runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes or sniffling but no fever. In this case, there is a rule that you need to remember to assess whether you can exercise when you have a cold. If your symptoms occur in the neck or from the neck upwards, you can still be active to help sweat and heal faster.
However, when you are sick, you should exercise at a low or moderate intensity. High-intensity exercise will overload your body and affect your immune system. This inadvertently slows down the body’s own healing process and makes you sick longer. In particular, if your symptoms worsen with exercise, you should stop exercising and rest immediately.
If you work out at a gym or in a public place, be careful not to pass the cold virus on to others. Just coughing, sneezing or even breathing through your mouth is enough to spread the virus to others.
>>> See more: Should I practice yoga when I’m sick?
When you have a cold and you are still exercising, please clean the machines and equipment after using them
Should you exercise if you have the flu?
If you are experiencing symptoms in the lower parts of your neck such as chills, chest tightness, body aches, you should take a day or a week to rest. Because chills, fever, and body aches are symptoms of the flu. Unlike with a cold, exercising with the flu can be dangerous because the process will dehydrate you and prolong your discomfort.
Taking a break from the gym can be a difficult choice for those who love to hit the gym. However, experts say that taking a few days off will not affect your training performance much. On the contrary, this is the time when the muscles are relaxed and healed, helping them recover from the attack of the virus.
Another reason why you shouldn’t go to the gym while you have the flu is that you can infect others in the gym. The flu virus is extremely contagious. Therefore, you should stay home for at least 48 hours after having a fever. Then you can return to the gym. However, during this period, you should only do low-intensity subjects such as walking or yoga and should only practice for about 30 minutes.
Prevent colds and flu with exercise?
Colds and flu both cause unpleasant symptoms. So, find ways to prevent these diseases before they bother you.
Many studies show that people who exercise properly for about 30 minutes a day on most days of the month have a lower risk of catching the flu than the average person. Exercise will strengthen your immune system and help you fight disease. This is because when exercising, blood cells move from the organs into the general circulatory system, where it is able to fight and fight off pathogens.
Certain exercises increase blood circulation, making it easier for immune cells in the body to “find” pathogens and destroy them. In addition, exercise also stimulates the lymphatic system to quickly remove waste products and toxins from the body. At this time, your heart and lung function will improve significantly, thereby helping to fight disease better.
Exercise can help you prevent the flu
Exercises can help you prevent colds and flu
There are several exercises that can help you prevent colds and flu, such as:
Meditation: Meditation is a practice with many benefits for flu and other chronic diseases. During meditation, you tend to remove stress from your mind. This allows the body to relax and rest in the right conditions for cell regeneration. As a result, your blood flow will increase and your heart rate will decrease. This strengthens the immune system and helps prevent colds.
Exercise for 30 minutes: Being active will give you a strong resistance to fight off diseases. Exercising regularly for 30 minutes helps strengthen your muscles and fitness. All you need to do is do stretching exercises, cardio exercises and a few other basic exercises. Not too difficult, right?
Running: Running on the machine will help you sweat a lot and is an effective method of burning calories. Burning fat and calories will help you maintain a stable weight, which is essential in the process of preventing flu.
As you have seen, in some cases, you can still exercise even if you have a cold or the flu. However, you should pay attention to the symptoms of the disease to choose whether you should exercise or not.
Reference source
Should You Work Out if You Have a Cold or the Flu? https://www.health.com/condition/cold-flu-sinus/exercise-cold-flu Accessed 11/1/2020
Exercise and the Flu https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/exercise-when-you-have-the-flu Accessed 11/1/2020
Does Exercise Reduce Risk Of Cold & Flu? https://efm.net.au/does-exercise-reduce-risk-of-cold-flu/ Accessed 11/1/2020
John Alen was born in 1971 and is a doctor in the healthcare and psychology fields with many years of experience. He is currently working at easyhealthylive.com, a leading health and psychology blog. Having studied at Y1 National Medical University named after IM Sechenov, John Alen is using his knowledge and experience to help improve the physical and mental health of people in the United States.
