So you’ve come down with a nasty cold, a case of the flu or maybe you just decided to hook up with that girl all of your friends warned you about.

The point is… you’re not feeling very good So, is working out sick a good idea?

I’m all for the macho man routine and being a tough guy when it counts, but when I’m feeling under the weather I turn into a momma’s boy. I would rather get my rest and hit the gym hard when I can actually give the weights an honest 110% Plus, the gym is a breeding ground for germs. So there’s a good chance that you will either get sicker than you already are or end up passing your germs to the next lucky guy/girl in line to use the equipment you were on.

NOTE: If you decide that working out while sick is a good idea than don’t be an asshole. Wipe down your equipment with the disinfecting spray that every gym should have readily available.

I’m pretty mental about missing a day in the gym. I think I may have picked it up from my cousin. When I was younger I would always ask him “Have you been hitting the gym?” and his smart-ass reply was always “Dude. I don’t miss” — Over the years I have developed this same train of thought. Never miss a day unless you have to and don’t take that literally. When I say “never miss a day” I don’t mean I train 365 days/year. I mean I try to never miss a schedule day at the gym, as in the days I am supposed to be in the gym according to whichever routine I’m following and always make sure to always schedule in enough rest-days. So when you do miss a day because you were too sick to train, you won’t feel so guilty.

Guidelines To Working Out While Sick:

It’s okay to workout (but also okay to take a rest day) if you…

• You have runny nose (bring tissue)
• Mild cough (cover your mouth)
• Sneezing (don’t leave snot on the barbells)
• Bothersome/Scratchy Throat

It’s not okay to workout if…

• You’re puking up everything you eat
• You have Diarrhea
• You’ve got a high fever
• You have a dry cough

Additional Guides For Working Out Sick:

1. Do “Just Enough”. Don’t go to the gym sick and expect to be lifting the same amount of weight you did the previous week. Also, if you’re sick it’s probably not a good time to max out or go heavy on the bench, dead lift or squat. Do just enough exercise to satisfy your body and mind, because let’s face it a lot of us fitness junkies can’t bear to skip a day at the gym and even if we only go for 15 minutes that’s better than not going at all, right?
2. Bring a water bottle. Nobody wants you to cough all over the drinking fountain
3. Wipe down your exercise equipment
4. Know your limits, working out while sick can be taxing. You won’t have as much energy, listen to your body and know when enough is enough

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 2:00 am and is filed under working out sick. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.