A cold always comes at a bad time. Is it worth stopping training for her? For professional athletes, all training is canceled during a cold. For sports fans, not everything is so clear and categorical.
Sports are harmful when you are sick
Opinion “against”. Many doctors advocate complete rest for the body during this difficult period for it. This opinion is justified, at a minimum, by an increase in the hormone cortisol during illness and during training. We get, as it were, its double concentration in the body. And this is fraught with disruption of muscle function and metabolic processes. In addition, the lymphatic system, which is responsible for immunity, will also work in extreme mode.Consequently, the physical effort spent will be useless at best, and at worst will harm health. https://youtu.be/-3UK7d5Mfa0?t=7
Sport is good for illness
Opinion “for”. There are experts who claim that non-professional sports always have a healing effect. There have been few studies on this topic, but they did not reveal any negative changes in the body after training during acute respiratory infections or acute respiratory viral infections. As a result, one of the researchers, Thomas Weidner, came up with the “neck rule”: you can play sports if the symptoms of the disease are above the neck (sore throat, runny nose), but not if the symptoms appear “lower” (chest cough, muscle pain, joint pain).
However, supporters and opponents are united in one thing: training is definitely contraindicated in case of high fever, chills, enlarged lymph nodes, vomiting and diarrhea.
Permissible physical activity during illness
If you still cannot do without physical activity, scientists suggest observing several conditions for your own good. Namely:
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- On the first day of a cold, we follow a particularly gentle training regime!the intensity of exercise should be reduced by half, the pulse should not exceed 120-130 beats per minute;
- reduce training time by 40-50%, in general no more than 40-50 minutes;
- drink clean water every 10-15 minutes to increase sweating and support the body;
- give preference to walking, running jogging, cycling, swimming, aqua and step aerobics, stretching, qigong, yoga, tai chi.
- Before recovery, avoid team games, sprinting, stretching with weights, strength, intense training and endurance exercises, outdoor activities in hot or very cold weather, as well as gym classes.
Training after illness
After recovery, you can begin your usual workouts with some adjustments for the first time. We remember that the body needs another 2-3 weeks to fully restore its strength, which means we do not strive to repeat all our maximum achievements.Follow the advice of doctors: return to your loads and pace gradually. Exercising after a cold is recommended for everyone without exception – both beginners and experienced ones. Physical exercise strengthens your immune system. During the recovery period, continue to drink a lot of clean water, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, do not neglect vitamins, especially vitamin C, and include lean meat and fish in your diet. In conclusion, I would like to say: listen more sensitively to your feelings during the course of your illness. If you are weak and have significant general malaise, it is better to lie in bed. Exercising through force is extremely unhelpful – you can only worsen your health and stay sick longer than usual. Be healthy!