I am sick, should I go to the gym?

I don’t know what is going on this week.  I was in Halifax last week working on a couple of shows, then came back home to work on another show and teach some first aid classes.  I probably was getting a little less sleep, and food, and maybe the change in the weather is getting to me.  At any rate, I have a stuffy nose.  My nose is only for decoration at the moment, I cannot really use it to breathe.   But I have not gone to the gym in almost a week(!)  Should I tough it and kick my own butt?

Well Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. is quoted:

“Mild to moderate physical activity is usually OK if you have a garden-variety cold and no fever. Exercise may even help you feel better by opening your nasal passages and temporarily relieving nasal congestion. “

Ok, so a receded intensity workout may help me feel a little bit better and not kill me.  If I had a fever or anything more serious, I am just asking for trouble.  This would also be a bad time to try my new killer workout or reach a new bench-press max.

If I had a fever,could I still workout?  Can I ‘burn off’ my fever?  Swimsuit season is right around the corner, I need to work out as much as I can.  What is the worst that can happen?  Dr. Lewis G Maharam says:
“if you're running a fever of 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38.3degrees Celsius) or higher, skip it. If fever gets too high, you break down proteins, maybe in the kidneys or liver (Reuters 2013)"   Ok, that sounds bad. Dr. David C. Nieman quoted in the same article: "If you have flu or virus with fever and pain, the best remedy is bed rest. The worst thing is to sweat it out with exercise. (Reuter 2013)"

Summarizing the Men’s Health and Body Building .com’s articles:

I can workout if at MODERATE to LOW intensity:
Clogged, runny or sneezey nose, mild scratchy throat.

I should NOT workout at all if:
I have any fever, cough, muscle soreness, or stomach issues.  In fact, bed rest would be best.

So what does this all mean?
Keep in mind, when you are ill, you body is spending resources to make you well again. When you have a good workout, you do minor damage to muscle fibers in order to achieve “hyper-compensation.”   Your body responds to stress of exercise by attempting to make you stronger than you were before to deal with even more exercise.  So attempting to trigger hyper-compensation while already taxed with an illness can be dangerous and counter productive.  That being said, if you are just a bit sniffled, LIGHT physical activity may help relieve some symptoms, give you a more positive attitude and keep you on track with your physical goals. 

So what am I going to do?  Well I just have a stuffy nose that can be cleared up temporarily with some nasal spray. Nothing else really hurts. But I should still take care of myself no matter how buff I want to look.  So I am going to stay at home, do some nice YOGA stretches.  If I feel up to it, I may do some free weights, but lower than my usual 10 rep 3 set weight.  So today, I will focus on my workout being restorative, not a boot camp beat down. 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/AN01097

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/11/exercise-with-a-cold-work-out-while-sick-flu_n_2660465.html

http://news.menshealth.com/are-you-too-sick-to-work-out/2012/01/17/

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/maia20.htm

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/exercising-when-sick