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Exercise and The Flu
Health | November 05, 2014
It’s that time of the year, Warriors! Cold and flu viruses are beginning to invade all over the place – at work, at home, at school, at restaurants, etc. Eating right – fruit and veggies are essential for a healthy immune system – and consistently exercising go a long, long way in preventing, fighting off or, at the very least, lessening the duration of the cold and flu.
However – and this is a big however – if you think you’re coming down with the flu or if someone close to you has the flu – for example, a spouse or a child – do not, I repeat, do not try to blast your way through an intense twenty minute session at the Zgym or decide to go for an eight mile run.
While exercise does boost our immune systems, intense exercise while ill or on the verge of illness has been shown to be detrimental to our immune system’s response to viruses such as the flu. In fact, intense exercise has the reverse effect. It can actually make the symptoms of the cold and flu more severe. It can also increase the duration of illness. Much of the research seems to suggest that the level of stress an intense workout puts on our bodies disallows it from effectively focusing on fighting the viruses that causes the flu. In effect, our immune defenses are temporarily down for the count when we’ve exhausted ourselves through strenuous exercise.
What you can do and ought to do if you feel a seasonal illness coming on is exercise at a moderate, even gentle, pace. A long walk or a slow, short jog might just be the ticket to keeping your body in battle mode against the flu. While studies seem pretty clear that intense exercise should be avoided right before or during the onset of illness because of our bodies temporarily weakened state of immunity, the same studies also indicate that moderate exercise does, in fact, boost our immune system.
If you think you’re getting sick or someone close to you is already ill, take it easy!
Private Member |
Awesome! thank you for the tips, I will consider this in case I start feeling sick, though since i’ve been eating so many fruits I haven’t gotten ill, which is great because, with my old lifestyle I would’ve gotten sick already by this time of the year.
I wonder if this applies also for when we get our periods? I read that our defenses also get lower during menstruation, I actually don’t excersice for a couple of days while i’m on my period, but mostly because of menstrual cramps and the fact that it’s really uncomfortable to excersice in that condition, at least for me.
Btw, congrats on your new page, loving the much more user friendly layout!
Private Member |
I do the same…not workout when my body is on the downslope..rest, take extra vitamin C (acerola). I used to be wanting to have a regular weekly pattern for my workouts, without success. Now I consider rather than a weekly pattern, a monthly patterns makes more sense. If my hormones can make me lift mountains, I will do so…and everyday of 10 days in a row if I feel I have recovered enough. On my periods, I don’t workout and I do eat what my guts will allow me to (my digestion is much impacted by hormonal changes).That time of month is more of a resting time and pamper myself.
Private Member |
Thank you for the article, Zuz! 😀
I usually plan my workout the evening before (I do my wo right in the morning since I’m too tired after work :/), but if I feel really tired or ill I spontaneously switch over to some yoga or some lighter bodyweight only exercises like wall-handstands, air squats or push ups or go for a short walk later in the evening.
That way I still stick to my daily routine and feel good about myself. But I also think it’s very important to listen to your body when it asks for a break from demanding workouts. 🙂
Private Member |
http://youtu.be/tF6nzc7uUXA?list=U
Zuzka coaching day #18
Watch this video. She answers your question in here.
Private Member |
This was right on the spot today. My mom is feeling weak lately but she still wants to workout and I told her that she should give her body some rest. I’m not sure if she will listen but that’s good to know anyway 🙂
Private Member |
Thank you so much for the great advice <3
Private Member |
I haven’t had the flu in years after changing the way I eat and exercising! 🙂
Private Member |
I always exercised while sick, most of the times intense or at least it feels intense with all that sickness, and i do feel better. Not even once it made me feel worse. In fact the more i lie in bed the worse i feel. In my case the best medicine for a flu is ignoring it and drinking lots of green tea with ginger and lemon.
Private Member |
toronto, on
Yep. Day 2.5 of my first cold in exactly three years. After having to go to work this afternoon, I knew I had to get some relief from blowing my nose and congestion, so I did the last Yoga workout as a compromise. 20 minutes of breathing well was the reward, but I didn’t want to suppress my immune system Having a veggie and garlic dish post workout now, and bedtime soon… 🙂
Private Member |
helsinki, finland
Thank you so much Zuzka for your tips! I never thought that it could be good to slow down your own workouts if someone close to you is sick (flu). I have always pushing hard and yep, I have get sick too!! Thank you, your posts ans subjects are so great, I really like to read them. Usually I’m not a big fan to read any kind of blogs and etc online, but I’m so in love your posts, and I read all of them. Thank you to keep your posts so intresting!!
Private Member |
Do you have any advice for getting back into a routine after being sick? I’ve been really good for the past year about working out on a daily basis (maybe missing one day a week but getting right back to it the next day), except for right after I’ve been sick. Last spring I had pneumonia and it set me back a full month, I was barely caught up to where I had been before that when I ended up with the worst sun burn anyone had ever seen (I could barely move my legs so I didn’t work out for probably 5 days) and it set me back again, then I had a really good run of working out until December when I got hit with a cold and the got the flu immediately after and before I knew it I had missed 3 whole weeks of workouts! So I jumped back in where I left off but had really fallen out of shape and now I’m having a hard time getting back into the daily routine because of how intimidating the workouts are now (even though a month ago they were challenging but doable). I don’t want to start a 12 week program over just because I was sick for 3 weeks but I also don’t want to hurt myself. What is the best route for catching back up after illness or minor injuries?