At this time of the year and over winter we can often get colds and flu. Many people I know don’t like missing training and continue to exercise while sick. Is this a bad thing or not? Can you train through a cold with a modified program? When should you completely stop and rest?
What things have others found to be positive and negative when working through a cold in the winter months. Obviously you should always seek medical advice when very ill, I am talking more about the common cold!
Hi Jo,
great topic for this time of year as we head into winter.
My general rule of thumb is rest no matter what- it is better to lose two or three days off training getting over a mild flu than to continue training and risk it blowing out and having to have an entire week off (or much more) – you won’t lose any fitness over two or three days.
There are also real risks involved with continuing to train when you have a virus – there is a possibility the virus can travel to your Heart (or other organs) and cause irreparable damage (rare, but it can happen) – if you do decide to train when you have the flu, make sure it is at a very low intensity.
One thing Steph said to me the other week was “you are much healthier when you are training” – which seems to be very true – last winter was the first I had off from training for a while, and i got several bad flu’s in a row – before that I had not been sick for years.
It doesn’t really make sense to me as the science says your immune system gets dampened from heavy training, so in theory you should get sick more often when training – I guess it is a good reason to keep up at least some activity during the winter months.
in truth everyone probably has a certain training threshold/volume that determines the response of the immune system – train too much and the immune system, along with the rest of the body can not recover and you end up over trained……..Did some body mention leprechauns?
Just thought I’d add – the current situation with Lisa Curry Kenny was thought to be caused by a virus…….
I think it all comes down to listening to your body! Being a novice to endurance sports, I made the mistake of going too hard, too soon-and ended up sidelined for over a month! At the end of the day, everyone has different backgrounds and experience levels, and you have to work at the rate at which your body can handle. Pay attention to the warning signs-and as Darren said, it’s better to have a couple of extra days off if you’re tired,stressed or ill-than a week (or month!)
Darren, I think I’m the same as you – I always seem to feel better when I’m training as opposed to when I’m not. I tend to feel pretty depressed when I stop training, and more tired, which doesn’t seem to make sense.
Generally speaking, if you just have a runny nose you can train through it but if it’s a chest infection and you’re coughing stuff up, stop until you’ve recovered.
If you’re seeing Leprechauns, training is the least of your worries.
My first meeting with a Leprechaun was at the 32km mark of the Ironman Marathon in the Engery Lab, he was the first mate on the “Good Ship Lolly Pop” with Shriley Temple at the Helm – they had got a flat tire and were having a fight over who was going to change it – this Leprechaun decided he had had enough and tried a mutiny, but Shirley whacked him good, so he abandoned ship as I was running past and jumped on my shoulders to hitch a ride back into town (damn heavy little fella)….made my run so much slower.
Ever since then they seem to pop up every where (the camp at the back of my garden is getting out of hand)…….I like to think that I’m gifted to be able to see them……..
I have heard the “if it’s just a runny nose, you can train” comment / theory from many athletes, although I am unsure if there is any real science behind it?
From my experience I would say if you have a head cold and it then goes to your chest, then you have already done too much, this is when it goes from being a few days off to being a few weeks off- I feel it is better to have a few days off at the first onset of any flu symptoms (runny nose, cough, headache etc), this hopefully avoids it going to your chest (which is then generally a combo of viral and bacterial infections, making it harder to get rid of).
I think Oliva’s comments ring very true “listen to your body” and also “work at a rate that your body can handle” (I learn’t this the hard way too……..).
Although if in doubt – consult a Leprechaun.