Ask the Experts: Exercise Well

I log onto Ironman.com more times than I care to admit! I know, I know, hard to believe, eh? You would think I was obsessed! Anyway, there is a lot of good stuff to be found, to both inspire and educate. We have all exercised beyond our bodies limits, through sicknesses and injuries - some more than others, (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE)! Anyway this little excerpt may or may not help those of you who don't listen to your body to finally see the LIGHT.

Dr. Paul D. Thompson: Should I run when I have a cold? How do I know if I'm too sick to exercise?
Published Tuesday, July 22, 2008
There are no hard and fast rules for exercising during illness, there is little in the way of solid medical research, so athletes must use common sense. Generally, if you're sick and don't feel like working out, don't. This is simply a corollary of the rule "listen to your body"-it's trying to tell you something.

You can take several days off a training schedule or routine without affecting your overall fitness level, so it's generally better to back off training when you're feeling under the weather. Be sure to get additional sleep and rest. But if a cold sidelines your training right before a big race, and you feel up to it, it's not necessary to cancel your plans.

The only time I prohibit a patient from exercising is when he or she has the flu with muscle aches. A good rule of thumb: If symptoms are only above your neck (like sneezing or a runny nose), you can keep exercising. But if you feel congestion in your chest or if your body aches, it's best to stop working out.

Why? Aches imply that the muscles are involved in the inflammatory process. Since the heart is a muscle, the presence of muscle aches raises the possibility that there is also cardiac inflammation. Some people even get rare viral infections of the heart called "viral myocarditis," which can cause abnormal heart enlargement and other serious problems, especially when the heart muscle is stressed, as it would be during a run. There is also evidence that hard exercise during a viral illness helps the virus survive, keeping you sicker longer.

Emma says: At the end of the day guys it ain't rocket science. Use your noggin and the longer your body is going to let you train.