OH! Magazine - Australian Version June 2015 | Page 10

MICHELLE
BRIDGES

SHOULD YOU EXERCISE WHEN

YOU’RE SICK?

Michelle Bridges shares her guide to exercising when you’re sick.
t is officially the season for having
a cold. Or at the very least any
long suffering immune systems are about
to be assailed by hoards of germs like a
Daenerys Targaryen’s slave army assault
on Westeros, complete with dragons. And
if I have to explain that, then I’m clearly
writing for the wrong audience!

I

Given that the average Aussie kid can get
five to ten colds a year, and the average
Aussie adult two to four colds a year, it’s
a pretty safe bet that at some stage over
the next 12 months your exercise routine
will be interrupted by some uninvited
rhinovirus, coronavirus, or one of their
two hundred odd mates!
Before we go any further let’s just clarify
a couple of things (which you probably
already know, but here goes anyway).
Colds are caused by viruses, which means
antibiotics are a waste of time. As are
cough medicines and, frankly, most over-

10

JUNE 2015 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

the-counter medications for colds and flu.
Hot liquids, gargling, rest, hot showers
and blowing your nose regularly (gently
please) are far better remedies. Oh, and
keep out of aeroplanes (note to self,
Michelle!).
So it brings me to a frequently asked
question – ‘should you exercise if you are
sick?’ If you have the flu you won’t be
asking me that question as the mere
thought of reaching for a tissue will
probably do your head in, so let’s get the
cold/flu controversy out of the way from
the get-go.
If you have a cold, the short answer is no,
if your exercise routine entails a lot of
cardiovascular work or if your muscles
and joints are aching. Your respiratory
system is already overloaded so you need
to be kind to it.
Also, recovery from intense exercise taxes

your immune system, which has already
got its hands full with Daenerys and the
dragons, remember?
I strongly recommend that even if you are
ill, you don’t get out of the routine of
exercise as the comeback can be too
easily postponed (and before you know it,
six months of solid training has
disappeared down the toilet!). So to that
end, don’t waste any time getting back
into it, albeit at a significantly reduced
rate of intensity. What I mean here is that
your jog can become a walk, your weights
session becomes what you’d normally do
for a warm up, and your power yoga
becomes a light stretch. You’ll know soon
enough, when your body is ready to ramp
up the intensity again.

Michelle’s Tip
An early but gentle re-entry into
exercise after illness is better than a
long inactive break.

www.michellebridges.com.au

( Fitness )