SHOULD you exercise when you have a cold? For the most part, exercise helps to keep us healthy and boosts our immune system. But there are exceptions, and sometimes taking a rest is what's needed.
:: What type of cold do you have?
According to Dr Diana Gall of Doctor4U, this is important: do you have a head cold or a chesty cold?
A head cold has "symptoms such as a sore throat and runny nose", she says, while the chest version involves "a chesty cough, body aches and a raised temperature". (You might, of course, have both.)
With a head cold: "It's usually safe to carry on with exercise, even if you need to lower the intensity while you're under the weather.
"If you're suffering from a chesty cold, working out could worsen your symptoms and make you feel even more unwell, as well as putting you at risk of injury," so rest is best.
:: Don't overdo it
Even if you are safe to go to the gym as normal, it's probably not advisable to lift your heaviest weights or go on a 10km run.
"You should avoid straining yourself too much – keep your exercise routine lighter than usual and take note of your symptoms day by day," Gall says. "If you wake up feeling much worse than the day before, or have developed any additional symptoms, it would be wise to avoid the gym until you start feeling better.
"If you usually go running or do cardio workouts at the gym, it's probably not the best idea to carry on with these while you're ill. But lower-intensity exercises, such as going on a walk, some basic yoga, or resistance band training could keep you active even while you have a cold."
:: Ease back gently
Don't dive straight back into an intense regime as soon as your symptoms clear up.
"If you exercise regularly and take some time off due to illness, try and ease back into your routine with the same amount of time you took off," Gall says. "For example, if you took five days off due to illness, spend five days easing in and working back up to your normal routine."
