Sometimes we get sick. When we’re sick it can be hard to tell whether we are well enough to work out or not. Here are some thoughts to help the decision process.
First and foremost: rest is devalued in our culture. Most of us run around on not enough sleep. We are constantly stressed out. Getting sick is one of the only acceptable reasons we have to get some sleep. It is not only all right to rest when we are sick, it is almost always a really good idea.
Also important: we do not bring our germs to the gym. Nobody wants them. We need to stay away from others until we are sure that we are not sharing.
Now that we’ve dealt with those important bits, what if we still want to work out? If we are having any GI issues, it is probably best to wait until they’re fully done. We want our insides to stay inside while we are working out.
If we are congested, we may want to go easy on the cardio. It’s already a challenge to breathe; we don’t want to make it worse.
In fact, going easy is the magic concept here. A gentle walk, a bit of yoga or stretching, maybe some light weights: these are the kinds of workouts we do when we are getting better. We want enough work to remind ourselves that we know how, but not so much that we tax systems that are already trying to deal with our viral or bacterial invaders.
Again, resting is a perfectly valid option.
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