Can You Exercise with a Cold?

Aaachoo! The weather is getting colder, and you know what that means…a lot of people are getting sick. Sometimes it can be unavoidable because both your coworkers and the people you live with at home have a cold. But can you still go about doing your normal exercise routine even with a cold?

Being sick doesn’t always mean you have to drop all your daily activities. Sure, it can be annoying having the sniffles. If that is all you have, you can continue your normal day. As a rule of thumb, mild to moderate physical activity is typically fine to do if you have a common cold. You just might need to tweak the intensity until you start feeling better. This is because there really isn’t a difference in how your body responds to fighting a cold while you are working out. Especially if you have cold like symptoms such as a runny nose, congestion and a sore throat. However, you should not be working out if you have flu like symptoms such as fatigue, chills, body aches or you are running a fever. With those symptoms, you should be letting your body get some rest to recover.

Exercising while sick won’t help you get over your cold faster, but it can still help strengthen your immune system. Which can be a great way to prevent future colds. If you feel the start of a cold, physical activity might even help flush out bacteria out of your lungs and airways. If you do end up with a cold and still want to go to the gym, make sure you are keeping cold etiquette. Be sure to cover your mouth, wipe down any equipment you use and throw any used tissues in the garbage. You should also make sure you wash your hands before and after each workout. Just make sure you are doing everything you can to stop the spread of the cold you have.

If you take away anything from this article, it should be to listen to your body. If you are feeling up to it and want to work out, then you can. If you don’t think you can handle it, then you should probably give your body a rest. Exercising is a great way to stay fit and boost your immune system. Just be sure not to overdo it.

For more information on exercising with a cold, click here.

Article written by William Graves.