Stability
Signs You Are Too Sick To Work Out
7 Signs You Are Too Sick To Work Out
By: K. Aleisha Fetters
You're in the workout groove—hitting up your regular runs, cross-training like you know you should, and strength training without fail. Everything's clicking, and you've got the momentum behind you to crush your running goals. Then, illness strikes. And, of course, germs never seem to set in on planned rest days.
What do you do? Chalk up today—or even a good seven to 10 days—as recovery days? Or push through to prevent a backslide?
The answer largely depends on your exact symptoms, or what your body's trying to tell you, says Rob Danoff, D.O. and director of the family residency program at Jefferson Health - Northeast in Philadelphia.
After all, according to research published in the British Medical Journal moderate exercise can actually strengthen the immune system, which Danoff, a family medicine specialist, notes could theoretically help you get over mild cases of the sniffles faster.
However, you also have to remember that when you're sick, your body is activity trying to fight off infection, and it needs to focus its energy there, not on helping you get in your miles, he says. Diverting energy away from your immune system's germ-fighting efforts could cause the illness to last longer than they would if you rested. Plus, Tara Hackney, a physical therapist with Athletico Physical Therapy in Chicago, adds that when you're ill, your body isn't well equipped to power through workouts or even recover from them.
However, all illness-recovery timelines and poor workouts aside, the most important thing to realize is that, in some cases, exercising when you're sick can actually put you at risk for severe health complications. Plus, it can make your gym mates sick too. Here are seven signs you need to swap your running shoes for your slippers:
1. You Have a Fever
“Think of exercising during a heat wave," Danoff says. “That's essentially what is happening to your body when you exercise with a fever." So what does that actually mean? A super-hot internal body temperature, increased heart rate, accelerated loss of fluids, and, ultimately, risk of heat stroke, he says.
What's more, 2016 research in Autonomic Neuroscience linked core temperatures greater than 104.9 degrees Fahrenheit to damage of internal organs, including the heart, brain, liver and kidneys. And, when you stress your muscles through exercise when they are already stressed from the heat, you increase your risk of rhabdomyolysis, a form severe muscle breakdown that can damage the kidneys and, in extreme cases, prove fatal, Danoff says.
2. You Have Persistent Diarrhea
Sure, exercising with a stomach bug is uncomfortable, but the biggest issue here is the risk of dehydration, says Michael Jonesco, D.O. He explains that fluid losses of as little as 2 percent of your body weight (so if you weigh 150 pounds, 3 pounds), can hinder your workout performance, recovery, and health. Water makes up more than half of the human body, so dehydration can impair cell signaling, thicken the blood, and increase how hard the heart has to work to pump that blood, adds Jonesco, an assistant professor of internal and sports medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
As soon as once your symptoms fade and you feel up to it, ease gradually back into your workouts, slowly increasing your exercise intensity over one to two days for every training day missed, adds Danoff. He also recommends skipping the pool or hot tub until you are without diarrhea for two to three days, since even microscopic bits of contaminated fecal matter, once in the water, can get others sick.
3. You're Vomiting
This should go without saying, but if you are regularly vomiting, or have done so within the last 24 hours, give your body some rest.
“It's likely that you are dealing with an infection that will take some time for your body to fight off," Danoff says.
Just like diarrhea, vomiting can also easily lead to dehydration, which exercise will only worsen.
Work on getting more fluids and don't start back with your regular workouts until you haven't vomited in at least 24 hours and are well hydrated. Exactly how long it takes to rehydrate depends on how dehydrated you were, as well as how much and what fluids you're consuming, Danoff says. He recommends that you opt for an electrolyte-containing beverage like a sports drink or coconut water to speed up the rehydration process. When you're hydrated, your urine will be light yellow or clear, he says.
4. You're Dizzy or Lightheaded
Sinus infections, ear infections, dehydration, and even some medicines that fight off infections can cause dizziness or lightheadedness, says Danoff. He recommends never exercising if you are experiencing any dizziness. After all, the last thing you want to do is pass out or fall on the treadmill or with a barbell on your back.
If you start feeling symptoms mid-workout, stop and sit down immediately, he says.
5. You Think (Or Know) You Have the Flu
If you have the flu, please, don't exercise, Danoff says. Apart from it being a significant illness, and your body needing rest to fight it off, it's also highly infectious.
“The influenza virus can be transmitted even through breathing and live on hard surfaces like gym equipment for up to 24 hours," he says. “Don't return to the gym until have been without a fever for at least 48 hours without the use of any temperature-lowering medications such as acetaminophen."
6. You're Taking Any NSAIDs
Speaking of fever reducers, it's best to avoid exercise (especially intense exercise) if you are taking NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen for any of your symptoms, Jonesco says. These pills can increase the risk of kidney disease, especially if you take them when you're dehydrated, he says.
Meanwhile, research consistently shows that exercising on NSAIDs is a bad idea. In one Emergency Medicine Journal study, for instance, researchers found that ultramarathoners who took ibuprofen during their races were about 18 percent more likely to cross the finish line with acute kidney damage. Research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America shows that NSAIDs may also inhibit muscle recovery by thwarting the body's natural post-exercise inflammatory response.
7. You Have a Nasty Cough
Not all coughs warrant time off from your workouts, but if they are so intense that you have trouble catching your breath or getting enough air during your workouts, it's not worth pushing through, Jonesco says. You could risk damaging your airways with abrasions that could potentially let in more foreign invaders. The result: a second infection.
If you've recovered from your actual illness, but still have a lingering cough (they can stick around for two to four weeks following an upper respiratory infection), Jonesco recommends sticking with lighter intensity exercise that doesn't stress your respiratory system.
Bottom Line: Remember that fighting off infection is a workout in and of itself, Hackney says. Respect the work your body is doing. When your body is ready to get back into the gym, you'll feel it.
