When we get sucked into daily activities sports, breaks for the time of illness are given to us with difficulty. Especially if it's just a slight discomfort and it seems that nothing terrible will happen if we go for a run or look into the hall. Sometimes it really isn't scary. Sometimes it's even useful. And sometimes it can lead to much more sad consequences than a week break.
But there are situations when a long break in classes is very undesirable (for example, before a competition). And it is for such cases that there is a rule "Above the neck".
Most coaches do not advise doing sports during even mild ailments. But how many people - so many opinions.
"Above the neck"
The rule is very simple. If your symptoms are above the neck and in a mild form - a runny nose or sore throat - then you can do it. With a mild runny nose during sports, the nose ceases to be blocked. Some especially desperate ones even go for a run with a runny nose (when it just started) in order to disperse the blood and stimulate the immune system. Avid runners say it helps them a lot.
If the symptoms of your cold are below the neck - cough, shortness of breath, or upset stomach - it is better to skip class. Add to this list muscle pain and fever. Not only can you be contagious and the people around you get sick, but you will also aggravate your condition.
Edward Lasovski, an expert at the Mayo Clinic for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, recommends resuming exercise after a severe cold and flu only a few weeks after the symptoms have cleared.
Yes, physical exercises help temporarily relieve nasal congestion and stimulate your immune system. But this does not mean that exercising will shorten the duration of a cold. At least so far this has not been proven by any of the clinics that are engaged in such research. I immediately remembered a popular saying - “If you treat a runny nose, it goes away in a week. And if you do not treat it - in seven days. "
What is the best way to start classes?
You need to do it at half strength and cut the duration of classes by half. If during the first 5-10 minutes you feel better, you can slightly increase the load. If you feel mildly unwell, it is best to stop exercising and rest. During intense exercise, your body releases certain hormones that lower your immunity and make you even more susceptible to other infections.
Moreover, with strong physical exertion, a mild cough can develop into bronchitis or pneumonia!
Let me remind you once again that you can only do it if you just have an ailment in the form of a slight runny nose or sore throat. Better yet, check with your doctor or coach.
This topic is very, very controversial, and I have not yet heard unambiguous answers. Therefore, first of all, you should think with your head and listen to your state. Not a single competition or lost kilogram is worth the disastrous consequences that can follow training in a sick state.
Fans of an active lifestyle cannot deny themselves the pleasure of playing sports, even with ARVI. It is worth figuring out whether it is possible to play sports with a cold?
Can you go to the gym during this period, can you run around the stadium, or should you refrain from physical activity?
Anyone who regularly goes in for sports improves his health, since these activities are the prevention of many diseases. Therefore, you need to make sure that physical exercise helped, not hurt our body.
To do this, you need to know whether you can cope with training during illness, whether it will help you recover.
Everyone knows that during illness, rest is laid, and sometimes bed rest. If the ailment has not passed into a severe stage, accompanied by an increase in temperature and poor health, then go in for sports with pleasure.
But if there is even the slightest malaise, then exercise should be abandoned, as it can worsen your condition.
Of course, sport has a positive effect on human health, increases immunity, but this applies to healthy people... Although you can catch a cold after active physical activity.
If a person sweats a lot during training, and then went out into the cold without changing clothes, then, of course, he can get sick due to hypothermia.
This is due to the fact that within a couple of hours after exercise, the body's systems are weakened, therefore it is recommended not to overcool, as well as refrain from staying in places of large crowds.
If you follow all the rules before, during and after workouts, and also do not overload your body with unbearable tasks, then even with a mild cold, when it subsides, sports are shown.
It will improve blood circulation, activate strength, cheer up, which will help to recover.
However, you should not walk at this time in special halls where do different kinds sports: not only to avoid health risks, but also to avoid infecting others.
You can think of many ways to go in for sports: exercise, yoga at home, aerobics, stretching, walking at a brisk pace in the forest or park, jogging.
Any activities on fresh air, even normal walking, help to strengthen the immune system. Therefore, you can go in for sports with a cold, but do not forget about the warning against increased stress on the body.
The dangers of playing sports during a cold
When is sports contraindicated for colds?
It is worth canceling your run for sports ground, fitness classes and gym in the following cases:
- If the body temperature rises to 38 degrees and above. If the temperature drops after taking antipyretics, you should not go to workout.
- For any infectious disease.
- Sick with the flu.
- Sore throat.
- With ARVI, if you notice an increase in lymph nodes.
- With the appearance of pain and aches in muscles, joints, bones.
- In the case when there is weakness, fatigue, weakness.
It is dangerous to train in such situations, as it can provoke the emergence of serious health problems.
It has been proven that those people who actively trained with a viral or bacterial infection themselves worsened the course of the disease, provoking various complications.
There were examples when this led to myocarditis, and inflammatory processes in the heart muscle were fatal. To avoid such consequences, you should monitor your health, do not let even a common cold take its course.
Although there are no contraindications to playing sports with a runny nose, however, the load should be sparing so that training does not lead to complications in the form of angina, bronchitis, pneumonia.
There are people who are professionally involved in sports and cannot take a break in their activities so as not to lose their shape for the competition.
If there is no way to postpone your training "for later", you need to work out a gentle training regimen with the coach. Depending on the type of sport, for colds, you should choose special complex exercise that will not harm the athlete in this condition.
Wait or not
Of course, if you have time, it is better to wait until the acute symptoms subside, and only then start physical activity.
Indeed, in case of illness, training cannot give the desired efficiency and be useful due to the influence of the hormone cortisol, which is activated during colds.
Cortisol breaks down muscle proteins, so you won't be able to keep your muscles in shape, and no result from power load wait is not worth it.
In addition, it can affect the increase in blood glucose levels, which can also adversely affect health.
There are positive sides in the action of training for a cold: for example, breathing is easier with a stuffy nose. Therefore, if it is only a runny nose, then this is not a reason for athletes to skip training.
But if the reason is muscle spasms, chest pains, fever, various inflammatory processes, then even warm-ups are prohibited.
The body in such cases needs to fully recover before starting to exercise again.
In any case, those who play sports professionally are under the supervision of trained medical personnel who, after examining the athlete, will tell him whether he can continue to play sports.
Stages of recovery from illness
After recovery, you can proceed to training, depending on the type and complexity of the course of the disease. If the cold was protracted, then the pause after recovery should be at least a week.
Only after this pause can you start physical activity.
Even if the symptoms of the disease disappear after taking the appropriate medications, the immune system is still weakened, and it is not worth overloading the body.
Therefore, it is worth starting with small loads on endurance.
This does not mean that you need to immediately run long distances - in everything you need to know when to stop and be guided by your body, with what loads it is able to cope.
If running with a cold was allowed, then after recovery, respectively, it will only benefit. Do not start immediately after an illness with strength training, so a complication of the disease may occur, although it would seem that the cold has already passed.
Sports for colds
If your well-being allows you and you still decide not to quit playing sports with a cold, then you should adhere to the following rules:
- It will be rational to reduce the duration of classes from 30% to 50%. If you previously worked hard for 2 hours, then you should reduce this amount to at least one hour.
- Reducing exercise intensity by half. Reduce the number of approaches on each simulator or exercise by 50%, that is, do 2 times less. Or reduce the load by distributing your forces correctly. It is worth recalling that with a cold, power loads are excluded.
- With sweat, not only illness comes out, but also fluid from the body, so you need to drink clean water every 15 minutes between workouts.
- After classes, you should give the body a rest and recover; perhaps the best medicine in this case would be sleep.
They also gradually restore the required load after recovery. In the first week, the load is increased by no more than 60%. In the second week - from 70 to 85%. And only in the third week, you can return to the original training regimen.
Thus, it becomes clear the answer to the questions: is it possible to play sports with a cold, and is it possible to train in the gym? For a mild cold without fever, cough, sore throat, sports training allowed.
But in everything you need to know when to stop, so you should not overdo it and experiment with loads during this period, so as not to harm yourself when the body is weakened and most susceptible to infections.
It turns out that sports do not always bring health benefits only. Remember how at school you got an exemption from physical education after suffering a cold? This was done for a reason, because any infectious disease is a direct contraindication for sports activities.During illness, the body mobilizes all available resources to fight infection. If at this moment you expend energy on physical exercises, then, in fact, you are stealing it from your own immune system... The healing process in this case may be delayed; complications from the kidneys, heart, lungs and others are also possible internal organs... About any positive results training during this period is out of the question.
Of course, few people rush to the gym during an illness - with a high fever, cough and runny nose. But why can't you resume classes immediately after recovery?
Training during this period is a real stress for the body, because it is significantly weakened by the fight against infection. It is necessary to give own body time to restore resources. The rehabilitation period is counted from the moment of recovery, that is, the complete elimination of the symptoms of the disease. Estimated recovery time:
- after a sore throat - from 4 to 10 days;
- after influenza, acute respiratory viral infections, bronchitis, indigestion and intestinal disorders - 6-8 days;
- after dysentery and pneumonia - 18 days;
- after acute rheumatic fever - 30 days.
In addition, you should not start training if there are foci of chronic infection. It would seem that diseases such as chronic tonsillitis, furunculosis or dental caries cannot be an obstacle to sports. In fact, by continuing to exercise, you run the risk of unexpected complications. The fact is that any physical activity significantly activates blood circulation; blood can flush the infection from individual foci and spread it throughout the body, which will lead to damage to other organs, primarily the heart and blood vessels.
Severe physical activity can complicate the course of any disease. Therefore, before starting sports activities, you need to make sure that your health is in order. Only then can positive results be expected.
Regular moderate physical activity is a good prevention of many diseases. However, will playing sports during a cold help the body to cope with the disease faster? Will this not contribute to the development of serious complications?
We know that by doing sports we “get healthier”. But is this always the case? Is it useful to do? What can lead to "at the wrong time" physical activity ? Let's figure it out.
Sport as a prevention of disease
Regular moderate physical activity contributes to the fact that a person is less likely to get sick, and if he is sick, then the disease proceeds in a milder form. Such loads can strengthen the immune system, keep the musculoskeletal system in a healthy state and cardiovascular system and even prevent the development of diabetes. Daily physical activity also helps to increase the body's resistance to infectious diseases.
Numerous studies have shown that walking for 30 minutes every day, doing gymnastics every other day, running, swimming, cycling several times a week significantly increases your chances of not getting a cold. So half an hour daily workouts reduce the risk of getting sick in women by 50% throughout the year. Experts explain this by the fact that during sports, the number of leukocytes, which are needed to fight infections, increases. Most often, viruses cause colds, therefore ARVI is written in the diagnosis.
“The most important preventive measures against any ARVI and colds are physical activity and hardening,” says neurologist Viktor Sigal.
Sports provoked a cold. Is it possible?
But sports are not always beneficial in the prevention of colds. Sometimes physical activity can stimulate an increased "cold". This happens in those who play sports to the point of exhaustion, overload the body and do not allow it to rest. Excessive exercise leads to the fact that the number of leukocytes in the blood decreases and the amount of the hormone cortisol increases. All this has an adverse effect on the human immune system.
In addition, scientists have determined that immediately after intense exertion, our immunity is weakened for several hours. Therefore, after training, you need to avoid crowds and avoid hypothermia. This will reduce the risk of catching infection and getting sick.
Can I exercise during a cold?
You were careful: you didn’t overload the body, didn’t go to the masses after training and, nevertheless, you got sick. This option is also possible, because some viruses are quite aggressive and are able to overcome even a good immune defense. Is it possible to continue classes in such a situation? Here the opinions of doctors differ. It used to be thought that in case of colds, it is better to stop all training until recovery. Now many specialists in physiotherapy exercises say that moderate physical exercise during a cold, they will not harm or slow down the recovery, although they will not speed it up.
But all doctors agree that during the period of a cold, the activity of physical activity should be reduced. Any cold disease slows down the anabolic processes in the muscles and increases the amount of the hormone cortisol, which destroys muscles. Therefore, intensively loading the body during a cold simply does not make sense.
Beware of the flu!
But if you get sick with the flu, you definitely need to stop playing sports. Influenza is a type of ARVI with a more severe course of the disease and possible complications. The flu is accompanied by fever, severe weakness, and high fever. Temperature is a clear contraindication for sports. If you load the body at temperatures above 37.5 - this can lead to complications. The most common complications are the heart, lungs, and kidneys. To avoid this, doctors recommend that the disease be “cured”.
“If you carry the disease on your feet, and this is usually abused by young people, complications in the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs are possible, if a person has chronic diseases. Therefore, at the very first symptoms, bed rest is necessary, ”says Alla Mironenko, head of the department of respiratory infections at the Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine.
But this does not mean that you need to lie down without getting up until complete recovery. Doctors recommend bed rest for the first 4-5 days when the body suffers from high fever. And even with the temperature, it is necessary to periodically "disperse" the blood and, for example, walk around the room. But exercises with dumbbells or squats are contraindicated at this time. After the symptoms of exercise have subsided sports can be gradually renewed, but do not go to the gym right away, you can infect others and overwhelm yourself. The first time is better to show. In this case, it is necessary to monitor the heart rate and respiration, so as not to overload the weakened organs.
Make it so that sports help you avoid illness, rather than provoke them. It is not difficult, you just need to act deliberately. Do sports for health!
You can go in for sports for colds, runny nose and other diseases, but only according to a lightweight program. Since the body fights against pathogens, and additional load on muscular system worsens the situation. If you go to the gym with a cold, exercise hard and do fitness, the positive effect on the healing process decreases. Therefore, it is not recommended to exercise and do vigorous exercise when you are sick until the cold is completely gone.
With a cold, there is an increase in the production of the hormone cortisol, due to the destructive effect on muscle tissue. Cortisol is a hormone that is produced in large quantities for colds, is characterized by the destruction of proteins and muscle fibers... Cortisol is produced in large quantities when the following factors are involved:
- overwork (after training);
- fear;
- stress;
- starvation;
- colds, tonsillitis and other diseases.
But this hormone also performs a useful function of attracting nutrients. When you are sick, the body needs building materials, which are amino acids and glycogen. The hormone is involved in the breakdown of proteins into amino acids, and glucose into glycogen. In this case, the body is stocked with building materials required for its recovery after ARVI.
Going in for sports if you have a cold is possible, but not worth it, there is no positive dynamics in this. Sport does not improve the condition. In addition, the action of the hormone cortisol is not beneficial during physical activity, but only contributes to the destruction muscle mass... Therefore, training, going to the gym to exercise is not worth it.
Above the Neck Rule
Among avid athletes, there is a rule called "above the neck". The peculiarity of this rule is that you can go in for sports to train in a rocking chair for a cold if the symptoms of the disease appear above the neck. That is, if you have a headache, teeth, throat, stuffy nose or inflamed tonsils, you can do it. The only unknown is the name of the founder of this rule, which will inevitably lead to various complications if it is observed.
To understand why it is not recommended to adhere to the “above the neck” rule and train for colds, consider what the lymphatic system is. So, the lymphatic system is presented in the form of lymph nodes and other small vessels. These vessels are filled with lymphatic fluid, which takes an active part in the elimination of toxins and harmful substances. Under normal conditions, when a person is healthy and does not have any pain, the lymph nodes are invisible, but if viruses attack him, then these nodes increase in size.
Enlarged lymph nodes indicate the predominance of pathological processes. They increase, creating a kind of barrier for viruses so that they do not spread to other organs and systems, this indicates that there is an active fight between leukocytes and microbes.
If, with a cold, with symptoms such as nasal congestion, cough, headache, play sports, exercise and exercise, then the infection will spread throughout the body. This is due to the fact that the lymph nodes will not be able to create a barrier during exercise, so the virus will spread throughout all organs and systems. It is recommended that you undergo a course of treatment for a week and lie down at home, then, when the cold subsides, start hardening your muscles.
Sports at temperature
Colds, tonsillitis are often manifested with the development of high body temperature. Moreover, the temperature value depends on the complication of the disease, but often the thermometer mark reaches 38.5-39 degrees. In this case, people who seek to train and play sports simply cannot do this. Why? The reason is that with the development of such a temperature, there is complete impotence and weakening, a sore throat, chills. In addition, a person is shivering, and if the temperature is not brought down, it can be fatal. What to do in situations if the temperature is maintained at 37 - 37.2 degrees, and the whole body aches and hurts?
The situation suggests that the fight against infection is being carried out. A temperature of 37 - 37.2 degrees and a sore throat is even worse than 38 or 39, since this temperature cannot be knocked down by anything. It is also forbidden to go in for sports for patients with a temperature of 37.2 degrees or with a runny nose.
Often a temperature of 37 degrees is caused by the following diseases:
- hepatitis;
- hormonal imbalance;
- asthma;
- tuberculosis;
- angina.
Symptoms that cause the development of 37-degree body temperature arise under the influence of various serious diseases. Therefore, instead of playing sports at a body temperature of 37 degrees, and even with a runny nose, you should rush to the hospital: treat your throat, SARS and other colds.
How to recover quickly?
If, in spite of everything, with a cold you rushed to go to the gym for training, then it is important to know that for a speedy recovery it is necessary to reduce the load by half. Reduce training time to 40 minutes. Drink plenty of water in small sips during exercise. The water should not be cold so as not to provoke complications.
If you still want to play sports, then it is important to give preference to the following types of exercises:
- running on the track;
- step aerobics;
- meditation;
- stretching;
- fitness classes.
Forbidden sports activities requiring strong physical exertion, deadlift, bench press and squats. You cannot show your maximum for a cold, so it is better to leave these loads until complete recovery. If you feel a deterioration in health while doing fitness and performing other exercises, then you should stop the exhaustion of the body and consult a doctor.
Recovery
After the cold recedes, the throat stops hurting and the doctor confirms your recovery, you can go to the gym and start exercising. Before doing physical activities, you should find out some points:
- You should not do heavy exercises immediately after a cold, for example, run 20 km or bench press 100 kg.
- You need to start with lightweight exercises, because the weakening has not yet passed, and the body will be in a similar state for about 7-10 days.
- To accelerate the strengthening of the body, it is necessary to avoid strenuous exercise, drink vitamins, and strengthen the immune system. Otherwise, if you try to exercise and exercise 100% immediately after recovery, it will negatively affect your health.
- After 1-2 weeks, you can return to the previous types of stress and go to the gym. It is recommended to do this gradually so as not to disrupt the recovery process.
If a person tends to exercise regularly physical training, then he is prone to rare manifestations of diseases or diseases that are mild. Sport strengthens not only the muscular and cardiovascular system, but also the immunity and the musculoskeletal system. Regular physical activity helps to increase the resistance of the immune system to various ailments.
If you love to run, jogging in the morning for 30 minutes can increase your chances of not getting a cold. Even if you get sick, then with the right approach treatment, the cold will pass in a mild form and will not provoke complications. To say “no” to a cold forever, you must not only regularly exercise and run, but also temper, lead proper nutrition, to refuse from bad habits.
In rare cases, sports can act as the cause of the development of a cold. But such cases are isolated and are explained by the fact that a person simply overloads the body to the fullest, not giving it rest. In this case, immunity decreases and the body reacts to any negative factors.
Now you know why you shouldn't go in for sports during a cold. And if your health is dear to you, then it is better to start with drug treatment diseases, and then start training.