Welcome back #fitfam! Life can be funny sometimes, especially when you make plans. My most recent article schedule is evidence that things do not always go according to plan and you must adjust and pivot. Late last week, the last weekend in August, I fell ill and did not meet my publishing deadline for my weekly entry into this series, but was able to publish a day late. Well as it turns out, I was in the early stages of COVID-19. I am a person who rarely gets sick, but the I do, most moderate illnesses really sit me down for a spell…I get really sick, really fast, and then I’m back up and running. For the most part, COVID has treated me the same way, except bouts of fatigue that have hindered my productivity significantly and has destroyed my workout schedule completely. I’m feeling stronger now, so things are slowly falling back in line, but sheesh, I just want it to be over, lol. Which brought me to today’s conversation, ‘Working Out with Illness’.
We’ve all heard the mantras, ‘push through the pain’ and ‘overcome adversity’, but the truth is, we have to listen to our bodies and make smart decisions when it comes to our individual health. I’ll preface my personal advice with this, be sure to listen to your doctor’s recommendations over any advice you might find on a website or blog because they have personal information about you that none of us have here in cyberspace have.
That said, my number one rule of thumb for working out with illness is to identify if its above or below the neck. If the illness is above the neck, usually your body is physically well enough to exercise (unless your doctor has told you otherwise). If the illness is below the neck, things get a bit tricky. I am against working out when body aches, joint pain, or muscle soreness is present because the risk of injury is heightened due to compromised form or possibly reduced strength. This is in addition to a head cold or sinus related illness, etc. Body aches are a part of our body’s personal protection system that warns us of what is to come and we should listen to those warnings to prevent injuries. I typically recommend at least one full rest day or possibly 2 full rest days before resume activities and at a slow pace or controlled intensity. I would also continue to maintain full awareness of how my body is responding during the first few workouts after being sick.
Due to the recency of the illness, there is not a lot of information on COVID-19 and working out, but based on what we do know, it should be handled on a case-by-case basis. Some people are able to workout their entire COVID spell and others have to slowly see back into things. My sister worked out with me virtually during here entire 14 day COVID spell, but I have had to pretty much stop. Strange how that works. In the end my friends, please listen to your body if you are feeling ill and try not to over-extend yourself if you are not 100%.
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Good tips about how to decide when to work out when you are sick.
Thanks Stacy, I hope this and other articles are able to provide value for you!
Ooh no! So glad you were able to bounce back and recover from Covid. This is pretty good advice as I’m down with monkeypox so this is good to know.
Hi Sol, thank you for reading. I am doing better each day. I hope that you recover quickly from the pox. So far I haven’t had any clients experience monkeypox, how is your energy level despite the physical signs of the illness?
Helpful information on working out with illness. I hope you feel better soon.
Thank you Debbie, I am feeling much better lately.
great advice! I think a lot of us fall into the “no days off” mentality which is not beneficial from time to time!
That mentality can be such a double-edged sword and it has its place but we all have to be careful not to push it too much because then we end up with the opposite effect.
Working is the most difficult part, but discipline will push you to keep track of your progress
Hi Yunah, discipline is everything, if you can commit to a consistent schedule and remain patient with yourself, results will come.
Interesting read! I grew up in sports that often promoted pushing through whatever sickness or injury you had… wasn’t great. Now I stick to lighter movement when I’m sick and skip it altogether if I’m hurting!
I grew up playing ball in the 90s when pushing through the pain was a sign of toughness and a lot of players suffered permanent injury because of that mentality. Its just an indication of how little coaches knew about medical in those days and how far we’ve advanced since then. I think you have a sound approach Deanna, listen to your body and respond accordingly.
I like to give my body a rest in the first few days of sickness, but if I have back issues sometimes, I aggravate my back and I like to give my back the time to heal. Thank you for the information.
Hi Tianna, I suffer with sciatic nerve issues so when my back is flared up, I also take that time to rest and recover with very little movement. Now a case of the sniffles never slows me down but I do stay out of the gym as a courtesy to others and just don home based stuff.