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Nov 5 2008, 3:52 AM EST (current) malonchr 3 words added
Nov 5 2008, 2:37 AM EST malonchr 4 words added

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Over the last few weeks a few people have asked me about whether or not they can train when they are sick and how.

Firstly I thought…step away from me you sickos...I don’t want your lurgie! But then I thought I better put it in an email and they won’t come to my desk and ask me personally, meaning I wont need to disinfect my desk again…JD I am talking about you my friend.

I’m going to keep it really simple: If your symptoms are above the neck only (head cold), you can do some lighter training. If your symptoms are below the neck, forget about training…drink lots of water…and rest. Training when you have symptoms below the neck is not good because it distracts the body from doing what it should be…building up antibodies to fight off your flu. Try running to the doctors and not the gym.

Let's get more specific. If you have a cold in which your symptoms are a headache, sneezing, and a runny nose (i.e. a cold), then you should be able to do some light exercise. In fact, light aerobic exercise can sometimes be the best prescription for a headache, as it causes the release of positive endorphins. And while not scientifically proven, the old wives tale is that you can "sweat out a cold".

If you are going to train when you have symptoms above the neck, keep the intensity no greater than 50% of your average session. If you feel yourself getting sicker, stop training immediately. You should be drinking more water than normal if training when sick.

When you start feeling better, for the first week keep your intensity no more than 70%, as your body is still recovering and you don’t want to fall sick again. Two weeks after, you should be good to go hard again.

Hope this helps, but please note: if pain persists, please see your doctor.

Til next month,

Chris

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