Can Exercise Help You Get Over a Cold?

Many of us wonder if we need to take a break from working out entirely when we have a cold. Are you able to exercise if you are just a little sick? Some argue that you should not do anything because you want your immune system to have all the strength it can. This is true in many cases. However, exercise can actually help you get over a cold faster in some cases and even make you feel less symptoms. Here we will look at how exercise can help you recover from the common cold as well as prevent them from occurring.

1. Benefits of Exercise and Illness
2. When You Shouldn’t Exercise if You Have a Cold
3. When You Can Exercise if You Have a Cold
4. How to Exercise if You Have a Cold

Benefits of Exercise and Illness

There is no doubt that exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health and well-being. It can help you to sleep better and improve your mood. You will also find that exercise can help to get over a cold. This is because you will be increasing your circulation and increasing the oxygen circulating in your system. Exercise will help to clear out your lungs and throat of mucus if you are well hydrated. It also may help you breathe and open nasal passages. And when you exercise you sweat, which will then help to flush out toxins that have been damaging your body. 

And of course exercise has even more benefits when you are not sick. It will strengthen your immune system so that you have less cold infections later on. Part of this is due to the physical benefits of exercise but it is also due to the mental benefits. When you are overly stressed, your immune system can be compromised. And since exercise is one of the best and most proven ways to reduce stress, it in turn creates a more solid immune system.

So if you’ve been feeling under the weather and are starting to get the symptoms of a cold, get yourself to the gym or out for a run. It will help you to get over your cold faster and make you feel better in general.

When You Shouldn’t Exercise if You Have a Cold

There are some cases when it is not best to exercise when you are sick. Exercise is a great way to combat many health problems, but too much exercise can actually make you sick. The problem is that your body is already under stress with a cold, flu or other illness. Then add exercise and you are just piling on more stress to your body. What happens is that your immune system starts to work overtime to help you fight off the viruses, so it becomes exhausted. The result? You get even more sick — sometimes even to the point of hospitalization. 

You should avoid exercise if:

• You have a fever
• You are vomiting
• You have diarrhea
• You have aches and pains
• You have excessive coughing 
• You feel very weak

Exercise is not meant to overcome serious illness but rather to facilitate recovery from a mild one.

When You Can Exercise if You Have a Cold

As I had mentioned, exercise may help when your cold or sickness is light and is more focused above the neck rather than below such as in the lungs. In these cases, your body is still strong enough to exercise and may benefit from the light boost to your heart and lungs.

You can exercise if:

• You have a runny nose.
• You have a slight cough.
• You occasionally sneeze.
• Your throat or nose is itchy.

So if you have a light cold, that is where you can find some benefit to exercise. And sometimes it may not benefit you, but it won’t make it worse either. This way you don’t lose out on much progress in the gym either. Now we will talk about how to exercise when you have a cold.

How to Exercise if You Have a Cold

The right kind of exercise can help you get over a cold faster. But what kind of exercise? Light to moderate cardio that raises your heart rate can be enough to help you get over a cold. When you exercise (or do any type of physical activity) your heart rate increases and blood is pumped to every part of your body including your immune system. Your immune system is responsible for fighting off any viruses that might make you sick. If you’re sick, you should not be exercising too much (i.e. high intensity cardio that raises your heart rate for an extended period of time) because you will be using up the energy that your body needs to fight off the virus.

You don’t want to be doing explosive exercises or high-weight/low-rep strength training. The purpose is just to stay active and get your body moving. You can work on personal records after you fully recover. But for now you still want to take it easy.

Some exercises you could do are:

• Walking
• Light Jog
• Stationary bike
• Weight training with low weights and more rest time
• Yoga
• Stretches

Also if you are sick and have to work out in a gym, remember to keep your distance and sanitize your spaces after use so as to not infect others. Remember that just because exercise may help your cold doesn’t mean you can go 100%. Take it easy and listen to your body.

Conclusion

 If you have a cold and you want to exercise, it’s always a good idea to check up with your doctor first before starting a fitness routine. Also remember to perform the “neck check”. If your symptoms are above the neck (stuffy nose, cough, etc.) you are probably good. If it is below the neck and you have breathing problems, aches, vomiting, etc., take a break. This topic is still not very well-studied so it would be a good idea to see how you feel and do what works best for you.