“Chief Academician Ioffe proved that cognac and coffee will replace sports and prevention for you,” Vladimir Vysotsky once sang. True, the true meaning of the song lies in completely different planes, but if you take it literally, the great bard was absolutely right: playing sports significantly improves the quality of life. Any exercise is good for a healthy body. What if a virus sneaks up? What to do: leave the usual rate of exercise, reduce the intensity of physical activity or completely abandon them?
To understand the issue, let's start with the changes that occur in the body during the period of the disease.
You are used to exercising regularly, but one far from perfect day, getting out of bed, you feel:
- headache;
- weakness, despite a long night's rest;
- nasal congestion;
- sore throat.
It is clear that some kind of virus has "leaked" into the body, and now the immune system is being restructured - from now on, all forces will be directed to fighting the "outsider".
If the body “feels” that the virus is not dangerous, there is no significant deterioration in well-being:
- body temperature does not rise;
- no desire to lie down;
- appetite does not change.
Perhaps, in a few hours after the start of the active work of protective cells, you will already feel better. In such cases, they say: “In the morning I felt bad, and then I “dispersed”. Everything can be limited to local reactions: runny nose, mild sore throat, hoarseness. In general, the body functions in the usual mode, an active struggle with the symptoms goes on at the local level - where the inflammation began. Doctors in such situations diagnose "ARI" or "ARVI". If there is only redness of the pharynx and sore throat, sometimes with a slight fever for one day, they speak of pharyngitis. If the voice “sat down” slightly and there is a constant coughing, this is laryngitis. All of these diseases are caused by viruses, but contrary to common misconception, it is not the flu.
In this case, training for a cold is not prohibited. However, there are several limitations:
- Do not force yourself to perform all the exercises that you do in a normal state. Reduce load to a minimum.
- Forget about weight training for a while. Strength training equipment, weights, dumbbells - all this should be postponed until complete recovery.
- Listen to yourself: at the slightest deterioration in well-being, stop exercising.
Going in for sports with a cold is not the best way to treat the disease, because the body is already having a hard time, it spends energy on recovery, and you still require additional efforts from it.
But if you are accustomed to a sports regimen, have been training for many years and cannot imagine life without fitness or morning jogging, then you can carefully continue your classes.
For athletes who do not want to deviate from their usual schedule, doctors recommend switching to:
- running at a calm pace;
- yoga classes;
- stretching exercises;
- dancing.
During colds, you can even boost your immunity a little by continuing to exercise, because with a moderate load, blood circulation is activated, which means that decay products of pathogens are removed faster.
Let's not forget: we are talking only about mild forms of the disease that do not cause drastic changes in the normal daily routine!
Separately, it should be said about jogging. You can continue to train if:
- observe the "rule of the neck" (that is, if all the symptoms affect what is above the neck: runny nose, discomfort in the throat);
- on the street - "plus" temperature, which means that there is no risk of swallowing cold air due to nasal congestion and thereby provoking an increase in the disease;
- reduce the time of jogging to 15-20 minutes.
In general, tinting, if you have not abandoned them, it is better to transfer it from the gym or the street home - to the treadmill. When you run outdoors, you will sweat, and then you may become hypothermic, and then the cold will get worse or give complications. If you go to the gym, you run the risk of infecting your “sports colleagues” with the virus. They probably won't thank you.
The above applies to SARS and acute respiratory infections, occurring in a mild form, without an increase in temperature. But what if the flu or parainfluenza came?
Influenza viruses are much more dangerous than those of the common cold. They spread with great speed, penetrating into all organs and systems. Therefore, the onset of the disease is acute, expressed in a sharp jump in temperature to febrile values \u200b\u200b- 38.5-390C, or even higher. When you're sick with the flu, it's hard to even get out of bed, not just do your daily chores.
Important! The body is completely focused on the fight against the virus, it has no strength left for anything else. Under these conditions, forcing yourself to perform any physical exercise is not only harmful, but can even be deadly! Moreover, it is impossible to engage not only in the midst of the disease, but even when the symptoms subside.
Even a low, subfebrile temperature is a contraindication to any exercise! Classes will cause the body to warm up, and it is already “hot” from the inside, so the temperature can rise sharply, and it will be even more difficult for the body.
During illness, anabolic processes are suppressed (that is, those during which the substances necessary for the body are synthesized - amino acids, monosaccharides, fats), metabolism changes. A lot of cortisol, the stress hormone, is released into the bloodstream, which causes destructive processes in the muscles.
The worst thing that can happen if you ignore the advice of doctors and continue training without waiting for a full recovery is complications will develop. Any of them - "not a gift":
- bronchitis;
- pneumonia;
- pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys);
- myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).
They are a consequence of the fact that the body, exhausted by the virus, is forced, instead of resting and gaining strength, to spend the rest of the energy on doing exercises. As a result, immunity weakens.
If you do not need such problems, forget about sports until the moment when the doctor gives the go-ahead. Remember how at school they were exempted from physical education for 2 weeks after a cold? Follow the advice of the doctors - give yourself such a release, recover.
Sport as a prevention of SARS and other viral diseases
If during colds the benefits of training are more than doubtful, then as a preventive measure, exercise and any other type of physical activity is what you need. Why?
During classes, metabolism is activated: all metabolic processes are more intense, which means that immunity is strengthened.
In addition, many sports are also hardening. So, if you are swimming, then the body experiences temperature changes when immersed in water and leaving it.
If you're running in a stadium or park, you're gradually accustoming yourself to adjusting to changes in the outside temperature. The main thing in this case is to avoid sudden hypothermia. Run, feel like you're out of breath? Never swallow cold air with your mouth! Take a step, breathing through your nose, walk at a calm pace. Don't stop, don't let the wind get under your clothes.
An excellent prevention of colds is swimming in open water. Minimal hardening goes on even in summer, in warmth, and even those who plunge into the hole in winter practically do not get sick with viral diseases. Reason: the body is accustomed to temperature changes, therefore, the weakening of the protective forces with at these moments does not occur, and the virus cannot "settle" in it, it dies.
Note! It is necessary to start any training and hardening from a minimum. A sharp load will not lead to an increase in immunity, but, on the contrary, to its weakening.
Walking and exercising in the fresh air as a preventive measure is one thing, but trying to harden during a period when the disease has already overtaken you is completely different.
Ideally, you should wait until the condition improves. In the meantime, you feel sick, you just need to open the window at home as often as possible. If it is cold outside, for those 15 minutes while the window is ajar, the sick person should retire to another room.
Walking with a cold is allowed under the following conditions:
- body temperature is normal;
- no weakness, no nausea;
- there is no strong cough;
- on the street there is no wind, rain, not frosty.
At the same time, reduce the load as much as possible: do not run, do not walk fast, reduce the walking time to 20-30 minutes. If flu or tonsillitis is diagnosed, and not a simple SARS, postpone walks until you are fully recovered. Reason: the body is very weakened, and if you get even a little cold or wet, the immune forces will not cope with the virus or bacteria, and the disease that has already subsided may return.
A healthy mind in a healthy body, says a Russian proverb. Let's agree with folk wisdom: only feeling healthy and physically strong, you can enjoy all the benefits of life and help those who need it. But, when starting classes, listen to the signals that your body sends you: if it needs rest, you need to give it such an opportunity. Only then physical education and sports will benefit!
It is well known that exercise helps to strengthen the immune system. But if suddenly the cold still turned out to be stronger, is it worth it to load the body and continue training? Are these two concepts compatible?
How does a cold affect anabolic processes and is it worth it to play sports when you are sick?
The goal of any workout is to accelerate anabolism, which is responsible for muscle growth, and metabolism, which is responsible for the removal of toxins, the breakdown of fats. It has been proven that infections and viruses entering the body slow down these processes. The effect of performing strength exercises is lost. At the same time it is noted: 
- Increased production of cortisol, which destroys muscle fibers;
- Reducing the number of white blood cells produced in the blood, which leads to a weakening of the immune system;
- Lack of protein and energy, which leads to overwork and exhaustion.
In addition, when playing sports, blood flow increases. Bacteria that affect certain areas spread faster and can get into healthy tissues. As a result, the effect of recovery slows down, the time for cell regeneration and overall recovery will increase.
Can you exercise with temperature?
An increase in temperature is an increased production of protective cells that destroy foreign substances that have entered the bloodstream, which are viruses and bacteria. At this moment, the body directs forces to their splitting and withdrawal. The heart, kidneys and respiratory system are under tremendous stress. If you start exercising with such symptoms, the body undergoes excessive overwork. There is a risk of complications. Therefore, training with temperature is not recommended. 
Is it worth attending training if there is no temperature?
When there is no fever, but there are mild symptoms, such as lethargy, nasal congestion, doctors also do not advise exercising. The reason is the same - you should not load a weakened body.
However, studies have also been conducted, during which it was confirmed that with such symptoms, the recovery time is identical to that of an unathletic person. In other words, training does not have a serious negative impact on the patient's body, but it will not contribute to premature recovery.
In any case, if you have a cold, it is important to consult a doctor and clarify whether it is worth continuing to exercise or is it better to wait a little while visiting the gym. By protecting yourself from the negative consequences of acute respiratory infections and its complications, each athlete will give himself the opportunity to recover faster and return to performing important exercises for him.
Protecting yourself from colds is quite difficult. This process leads to weakening of the body, discomfort and loss of strength. The disease can affect even those people who exercise daily. This begs the question, is it possible to play sports with a cold?
Specialists conducted an experiment on fifty volunteers, half of whom were forcibly infected with a viral infection. The duration of the study was ten days. During illness, one part of the subjects was engaged in weightlifting. The rest did jogging and worked out on simulators.
The group that was infected with the virus and practiced light sports recovered in seven days without harm to health. Bodybuilders and heavy lifters did not begin to recover until the tenth day.
After that, the experts concluded that those who undergo light training for a cold recover normally and do not cause complications.
Of course, this method of verification had many opponents. After all, the infection did not occur in natural conditions, and the virus strains were too weak. In the natural environment, things are different.
Some contraindications to playing sports with a cold
Professionals say that all diseases that occur above the neck are not a restriction on playing sports during a cold. With mild congestion of the nasal passages, runny nose and sore throat, you can train.
When the disease affects the joint and muscle tissues, colds and sports become incompatible.
An absolute limitation to any exercise is raising the temperature above 37 degrees. Also, a professional does not engage in sports training with various inflammatory processes, pain, coughing, shortness of breath, heaviness in the arms and legs, and muscle pain.
Sports for colds in non-professionals
Training during a cold or its absence among professionals takes place under the strict supervision of specialists. It is the doctors who determine the patient's condition and make a verdict on whether it is possible or impossible to perform the exercises in this case.
But what about those who go in for sports on their own? Are they allowed to exercise during a cold? How to correctly determine your condition? Trained people can perform light exercises. But there are two opinions on this.
The first is that any load is contraindicated even at the first manifestations of a cold. These include sneezing, coughing, mild malaise, weakness, runny nose.
The second opinion is based on how well the patient feels. If a cold does not greatly affect his general condition and there is a slight nasal congestion, runny nose and sore throat, then you can attend sports training.
Based on the two opinions, experts define absolute limits.
- Patient has elevated temperature. Such a process always indicates that an inflammatory process is taking place in the body. It is strictly forbidden to engage in any physical activity during inflammation.
- Flu infection. When this disease occurs, the body undergoes severe intoxication, as a result of which not only the temperature indicators of the body increase, but also a weakening of the body occurs. The recovery period after suffering the flu should be at least eight weeks. It is impossible to train with such a process, since the flu carries many complications.
- Cough of an intense nature that comes from the chest region.
- Painful sensations in the articular and muscle tissues, aching bones.
- Loss of strength. When the body is very exhausted, it requires rest. Therefore, it is not worth overloading it with physical activity.
Sports as a preventive measure for colds
There is an opinion that sports loads reduce the likelihood of a cold. Experts say that physical activity strengthens not only muscles and joints, but also immune function. Thanks to sports, the level of leukocytes in the blood increases, which allows the body to better deal with pathogenic microflora.
What can you do to avoid colds? It is not necessary to get involved in weightlifting and constantly torment yourself with loads. They should be moderate and pass in one or two days.
The patient can do:
- daily running in the fresh air for thirty minutes;
- aerobics every other day;
- yoga;
- stretching of muscle fibers;
- aerobics combined with oriental martial arts;
- slow Chinese gymnastics;
- water aerobics.
During the period of colds, vitamin complexes and immunostimulating agents should be taken as an additional therapy.
Proper exercise for colds
If the patient does not have absolute restrictions, then you can start doing workouts. But for them to benefit, you must follow a few rules.
- Reduce the duration of training sessions by twenty to forty percent. If in normal mode sports last an hour and a half, then with a cold it should last no more than forty minutes.
- Reduce the intensity of the training process. During the period of a cold, the indicators are reduced by fifty percent. That is, the number of exercises and approaches is reduced by about half.
It is enough to do a warm-up, run along the track and perform simple exercises.
During a cold, any power loads are contraindicated. - Observe the recovery period. After the patient has recovered, the intensity of the loads in the first days can increase up to fifty percent. A week later they are raised to ninety percent. During the recovery period, doctors advise taking vitamin complexes.
- Consume a lot of liquid. During a cold, the body loses a lot of water. As a result, the muscles dry up and weaken. To restore balance, you need to drink up to two liters of fluid per day.
During the training process, the patient needs to drink water every fifteen minutes.
- Provide the body with proper rest. To recover quickly, after physical exertion, the body needs to rest.
It is worth noting that after training, the patient's immunity drops greatly. Therefore, large crowds of people should be avoided.
Strengthening the immune function is not only physical activity. In order for the body to recover and recover faster, you need to follow a few recommendations.
- Refuses to take medication. For a viral infection, you need to take antiviral drugs, for a bacterial infection - antibiotics.
- Follow proper nutrition. During a cold, food should be gentle and soft. Avoid spicy, spicy and hot foods. The diet should include cereals, soups, boiled meat and fish, vegetable and fruit dishes, dairy products.
- Ventilate the room regularly and humidify the air.
- If possible, do not go outside for three days. The body needs time to rest and recover.
- In the absence of temperature, warming procedures can be carried out.
- If the temperature is elevated, taking a bath and shower is strictly prohibited. It is enough to wipe with warm water.
Many colds are caused by a viral infection. When the patient is in an acute period, it is better to skip training. This will become dangerous not only for the patient himself, but also for those around him.
Exercising indoors is dangerous, as when sneezing, coughing and sweating, the patient spreads viruses. Therefore, everyone who is nearby is likely to get sick.
If it’s hard to give up sports, then it’s better not to go to the gym, but to conduct classes at home.
Of particular danger is influenza infection. The thing is that this disease leads to various complications in the kidneys, heart, brain. During the training process, blood circulation improves, all cells are enriched with oxygen. But if a person is infected, then the viruses will spread throughout the body.
When the first symptoms appear, it is better to consult a doctor.
The season of viral diseases rarely passes without forced breaks in training. This problem in one way or another overtakes almost every athlete. The opinions of doctors on this matter differ: some argue that any physical activity is strictly contraindicated for the patient, others believe that light training will not harm the course of the disease or even speed up recovery. In the article, we will figure out whether it is advisable to train with a cold and how to recover faster after an illness.
If your immunity has given up, and you have picked up a viral infection, this is a serious stress for the body. All its resources will be directed to the main task - to defeat the infection and restore full functionality. Strength training is also stressful for the body, so it is much more difficult to recover from continuous training.
Therefore, a completely logical question arises: is it necessary to train at all with a cold? It all depends on how you feel. If you feel normal, the symptoms are weak, the condition is stable, without a temperature, then a couple of light workouts 30-40 minutes long will not hurt you. Excessive sweating occurs during sports, due to which you even lower the elevated body temperature. In addition, free radicals are released from the body along with sweat, which slow down the course of the disease.
However, if due to illness you decide to skip 3-4 workouts, nothing bad will happen. On the contrary, your muscles will be properly rested, and further training will be even more productive.
If you still decide to go to the gym, having all the symptoms of a cold, follow these simple rules:
- Drink at least one and a half liters of water per workout so as not to disturb
- Rest completely between sets to reduce stress on the cardiovascular system.
- Limit contact with other athletes to avoid spreading the virus throughout the gym.
- Work out in insulated clothing so that you do not start to shiver due to changes in body temperature.
- The intensity of training should be below average. Do 3-4 fewer reps per set than you normally would.
Training for serious ARVI diseases
If the symptoms of the disease are serious, then any physical activity is contraindicated for you. It is better to postpone going to the gym until you are fully recovered, as you risk:
- get complications on the internal organs;
- significantly worsen well-being;
- infect other visitors.
Don't self-deceive. Even if after taking analgesics and antipyretics you normalize your condition and feel more or less cheerful, this does not mean that it is time to go to train. When you finish your workout, the effect of the medication will just subside, and you will feel much worse than before the workout. If you notice flu or SARS symptoms in yourself, first wait for a full recovery and only then develop a strategy for returning to sports mode.
Activities during recovery
If you feel that during the illness your muscles have lost their tone, you should not immediately start high-intensity training with huge weights. If the break was 1-2 weeks, then at first it is recommended to train according to the full-body system - that is, to load all muscle groups in one workout. Within the framework of this scheme, the athlete performs one exercise in 2-3 approaches for each muscle. Give preference to basic movements in which you feel the work of the muscles well. You can be guided by the same principles, but engage in, so the intensity of the classes will be higher.
An approximate training option for all muscle groups during the recovery period after an illness is as follows:
This scheme is just a sample of how you can train for the first time after recovery. Exercises, the order of the muscles being trained, the number of sets and repetitions may vary. All sets should be moderately intense - don't work to failure. Rest as you feel: in more, for example, on the shoulders and arms, the interval should be no more than one and a half minutes. In, like the deadlift, rest until the rate of breathing is fully restored: as a rule, this takes about three minutes.
If you decide to take a break from training in the gym, but you don’t want to lose your tone, you can do some light cardio workouts during the recovery period. Standard aerobic exercise for fat burning and endurance development involves keeping your heart rate at 70% of your maximum (which is calculated by the formula: 220 minus your age). But while the body is weakened, it is better to keep the heart rate at 55-60% of the maximum. Cardio will help you get rid of excess water and subcutaneous fat that you may have accumulated during your illness.
After 3-4 full-body workouts, move on to your standard split program. At this point, you will have fully recovered from the illness, and your muscles will be ready for full-fledged strength training.
What exercises will help strengthen the immune system?
Any training forces the body to adapt to the load that you set. According to experts in the field of sports medicine, types of fitness with a predominantly aerobic load contribute to strengthening the immune system:
- swimming;
- water aerobics;
- yoga;
- jogging;
- moderately intense martial arts.
By including this kind of activity in your training process, you will significantly reduce the likelihood of developing infectious diseases.
Whether physical activity is useful for a cold - scientists answered this question in a study conducted by the College of Sports Medicine in the United States. Those who led the study found that exercising for mild colds helped reduce symptoms.
And, on the contrary, strength training can completely unsettle a person during a cold or, even more so, the flu. Strength training in heavy sports such as powerlifting, arm wrestling and bodybuilding has been shown to significantly worsen cold symptoms in people who did not stop exercising.
Sports can help you recover faster
This conclusion was reached by scientists during their study. But only if, according to scientists, if physical activity does not deplete the body. After all, what a healthy person can do is sometimes beyond the strength of a sick person. A cold weakens the human immune system, and with it all other systems of the body.
Therefore, even with a relatively normal state of health and a cold in the initial stage, increased exercise can only make the symptoms of a cold worse. But in a more severe condition, but with an optimal load (simple exercises and a healthy diet, plenty of water throughout the day), sports can shorten the time of the disease and alleviate its symptoms.
Even taking into account the fact that an average person has a cold up to 5 times a year and this person is an athlete, a cold can prevent him from exercising. But don't sacrifice your health for sports. If you get sick - reduce your sports load, and you will recover much faster.
What happened in the groups of subjects during the experiment?
Scientists at the American University in Indiana conducted a study of 50 people under the guidance of Professor Weidneris, MD. These 50 people - students - agreed to be injected with virus-infected serum, and then scientists observed them for 10 days. At the same time, 25 students were actively involved in sports throughout this period, while others practiced only light exercises.
After 10 days, it turned out that those students who did not subject their body to too heavy physical exertion during a cold recovered more quickly. Their cold symptoms were not as severe as those who did extremely intense strength training. You can draw the conclusion yourself.
Reality and the cold experiment
Experiment with students - this must be taken into account! - carried out under mild laboratory conditions. The virus he injected was not severe and did not cause very severe cold symptoms, as is often the case in real life. But for those who periodically get colds, you should know that in ordinary life a person suffers from many strains of viruses, against which it can be very difficult for the human immune system to fight.
In addition, unrecognized viruses can cause severe complications: disruption of the heart, blood vessels, respiratory system, kidneys, liver, cause intoxication of the whole body, which causes unbearable pain in muscles and head. And then it can be quite difficult to distinguish the flu from the common cold, choose the right treatment, and even calculate the duration and intensity of physical activity. Your doctor will help you with all this.
If you get sick - do not torture yourself, but rest more, and do the exercises that you can do. This way you will recover faster and there will be less chance that the cold will return soon.
Complications due to physical overload
It is clear that even a mild cold is a burden on all body systems. It suppresses anabolic processes in the muscles, activates the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which poisons your tissues and causes the muscles to become painful, destroying them. If a person does not give himself a break, actively doing sports, these processes are accelerated and aggravated. And then from training you will not only not get any sense - it will significantly harm you.
Do not play sports and do not give yourself a lot of physical activity if:
- You are in the midst of a cold
- Your symptoms get worse
- You feel increased weakness and fatigue
- You don't sleep well
- You have an elevated - over 38 degrees Celsius - body temperature
- Your muscles and head hurt
- You cough and wheeze
- It's hard for you to breathe
If the disease proceeded in a severe form, it is better to avoid physical activity for about 3-4 days after recovery - this will guarantee you the best effect of getting rid of a cold.
What remedies will help to cope with a cold?
Please note that these remedies will not shorten the duration of your illness, but they may reduce the severity of your cold symptoms.
- Antipyretic drugs such as Theraflu
- Sucking cough drops with analgesic effect - for example, travesil
- For a severe cough symptom, take an antitussive syrup such as tussin or travesil
- To reduce irritation and dryness in the throat, you can use sprays such as lugol, cameton or inhalipt
Prevention of colds in combination with sports
Even if you are actively involved in physical education and sports, do not forget about the following cold prevention methods:
- Be sure to drink vitamins about a month before the onset of cold seasons - in October and April. Vitamin complexes on the recommendation of a doctor, you should take at least twice a year - in spring and autumn
- Rest and sleep - this will reduce the risk of illness
- Take vitamin C and glutamine as recommended by your doctor, especially before seasonal flu outbreaks
- Boost your immunity with echinacea extract (unless you have high blood pressure - echinacea will increase it even more).
- Temper at any time of the year, but gradually.
So, physical activity during a cold, as we have seen, depends on the state of health and the severity of the disease. Therefore, when deciding on sports during a cold, you need to be guided by doctor's prescriptions and your own common sense.