I got sick on a Monday the other day which threw me off mentally. Usually, I start Mondays off with a bang but this time I started it off with a whimper. My beliefs at the time were that if I was sick I couldn’t possibly do anything productive. A sick day was the equivalent of turning into a jelly-fish for me. Even though the symptoms didn’t really surpass the common cold…
This led me to do a good deal of research and thus come out with this article. One of my primary concerns was that being sick would throw off my training regiment. But research shows that being sick doesn’t have to be an excuse for not working out.
In fact, if you plan on laying in bed for a day or two, you may be sabotaging your immune system. The opposite is true too. If you do a hard workout when you’re sick…that could actually end up lowering your immune system. However, when you’re not sick…then feel free to pump iron and go hard!
Studies show that moderately intense activities can boost your immune system while you’re sick. This includes activities such as:
- Yoga
- Qi-Gong
- Tai-Chi
- Swimming
- Jogging
- Walking
- Biking
- low volume/high rep
And that’s exactly what I did. Everyday I got up nice and early and went to the gym. During the first two days, when the symptoms were at their peak, I did very moderate exercises. I would simply walk on the treadmill and stretch.
By day 3, my sore throat was already gone! And so I did more intense stuff like high-rep/low-volume training with weights. Keep in mind I was still coughing and had a stuffy nose but I trained through the discomfort. What a badass right?
By day 4 the cold and all of the subsequent symptoms were 95% eliminated. I barely felt sick at all. Which leads me to conclude by saying that exercising definitely helped raise my immune system. And in the future, if I ever am to get a cold again, you’ll be able to find me in the gym! No excuses. Spartan Up!
Best,
Maximillian Giamarco
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