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In summer everyone suddenly seems motivated to exercise. Not only do you want to look good when you pull the bikini out from the back of your drawer, but you need the fitness to keep up with the summer activities that come along.
Now that winter is here, many of us welcome the excuse to skip the gym and with the yearly colds and flus doing their usual circuit will happily hibernate for days under the blankets. For others though, the determination to keep going and stick to their exercise routine can outweigh common sense. There are plenty of conflicting theories and old wives tales out there about exercising when you’re sick.
Read on to learn when exercise can be beneficial and when it’s time to put your feet up and let your body recuperate...
Isn’t it a mood elevator? It’s fairly common knowledge that exercise positively affects your serotonin levels (sometimes referred to as ‘happy chemicals’) and is recommended for people suffering from depression. Exercise also boosts your immune system, which in turn helps you fight the bugs that cause colds and flus. Yet, while exercise can give you a mental and physical boost when you're feeling run-down, in some circumstances it will do more harm than good.
So, What’s the Harm? Exercising when you really are too sick will only lower your body’s ability to fight and prolong your recovery. If you have anything worse than a common head cold, you need to seriously question whether it is worth the risk. Simple things like a sinus infection can escalate if you tax your system too much and exercising with a fever will only compound the problem. Exercise makes your heart pump blood from your muscles to your skin, causing your body to generate heat. So, if you already have a fever exercise will pump up the heat even further and put your heart under strain as it fights to moderate your temperature.
In extreme cases this can even cause an irregular heartbeat. If you have a temperature and are feeling overheated, stay in bed, keep up the fluids and allow your body the time to fight it.
Feeling Achy? What if you don’t have a fever but you’re just feeling achy? Won’t scrapping the cardio and doing a little resistance training be ok? Again, it’s time to rest. Resistance training works by causing damage to your muscle tissue and creating small tears, or ‘microtears’ in the muscle fibres. It’s in the repairing and rebuilding process afterwards that your muscles become stronger, leaner and more toned. When you are well, this is beneficial as your body will be able to do its recovery work. Exercising when your muscles are already compromised though, only puts them under more pressure and can lead to injury.
The Neck Rule Some sports specialists advise using the ‘neck rule’: If you are experiencing symptoms below your neck - in your chest, lungs or you have an aching body - you need time off. Symptoms above your neck – a stuffy/runny nose, sneezing or a light headache – will not be made worse with light exercise. If you do moderate, short stints of exercise with a head cold it can actually be beneficial in maintaining fitness and psychological well being.
Boosting vs Busting Your Immune System Your immune system is your best friend if you take care of it. Good quality sleep and moderate exercise will improve it, but exhausting your body and not allowing for proper recovery will make you vulnerable and less able to fight off whatever is attacking your system. Make sure that you aid it with rest, nutrient rich foods and lots of fluids. Even if you don’t have an appetite, try poached eggs on toast, a fruit smoothie, brightly coloured veggies and or little lean meat. These foods will give you the vitamin C, E and zinc that your immune system needs.
At the end of the day, it comes down to common sense. New research constantly contradicts what we have come to learn about the human body and if anything, we analyse things too much for our own good.
You should be able to tell the difference between a sniffle and a raging fever, so when it’s time to rest, stop listening to your guilty conscience and start listening to what your body is trying to tell you.
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Not only do you want to look good when you pull the bikini out from the back of your drawer, but you need the fitness to keep up with the summer activities that come along. 
So, What’s the Harm?
At the end of the day, it comes down to common sense. New research constantly contradicts what we have come to learn about the human body and if anything, we analyse things too much for our own good.