Be kind to yourself, and rest up when you are sick

Hello peeps,

I wanted to touch on a topic that is VERY hard for me to handle. When I get sick, it is a battle with myself not to workout (intensly). I have a big weekend coming up and I can feel that tickle in my throat and my energy level is a little low. Right now is the most crucial time for me to rest and take care of myself.

I have been drinking fluids, intaking vitamins, and resting whenever I can. The hard part, as I mentioned earlier is not doing my usual workout of going hard, pushing my limits, and getting sweaty. I keep telling myself that if I do my usual workout it's going to make it worse. Now, you might be asking yourself why? I thought that working out is great for you, and it's also supposed to be good for building your immune system. Here is what you may not know.....

Exercise has a temporary effect on our immunes systems, it is a form of stress for the body. The stress response caused by a single session depends on how fit we are and how hard we exercise during the session. Some common findings include

• it has been found that even after a session of moderate intensity exercise ( i.e. 30 minutes, involving heavy breathing and light sweating) the immune system can change. More white blood cells will circulate and some will function differently. I
• for this type of moderate intensity workout there is no real benefit or detriment to the immune system. 
• If the exercise intensity is very high and is done for a long period of time (i.e. over an hour) it can be strenuous on the body. Like any stress on the body the immune system will respond. This response can make aspects of the immune system not work as well 
• Athletes who train hard may be more likely to be at risk for colds after heavy training sessions or competitions. 
• Research has found that after exercise the immune system returns to normal within one hour, for most people. This return can take longer when the workout has been heavy (long duration and high intensity.)
• It is during that one hour window of the "immune recovery" when you may be more susceptible to colds. The risk may be higher when heavy training sessions are done back-to-back, because the immune system doesn't get a chance to balance itself out and return to normal between sessions. 
• For a typical workout (i.e. light/moderate intensity, less than an hour) our immune system is not greatly affected. In some cases it might actually ward off a cold. 

In the end, I'm going to take it easy and go for a nice walk. A good rule of thumb, if you have any symptoms that are above your neck that don't include a fever, it is ok for a light and short workout session. Anything else stay in bed and get lots of rest! I hope that the next time you have a dilemma on weather you should get that workout in or stay in bed, this helps out! :) 

Seize the day my friends! 

Pistols..Out! 

xoxo