To train or not to train? When to come back to fitness after illness

Can you believe it? My partner in crime admitted to me recently she now knows what ‘man flu’ feels like… Bless.

Have you also experienced a grim January 2018? The press suggested recently, it could be the worst UK flu season in seven years. Even after a relatively cold and flu free 2017, it caught up with me for about 2 weeks. Yes, even fitness coaches can get ill occasionally.

I’ll leave the medical prescriptive advice to the specialists; but if you’re used to being involved in a regular sports activity and exercise, and you’ve been ill, what’s the best approach to managing your comeback?

Imagine, you’ve been hit with a virus and you’re experiencing fatigue, a cough or a fever; the last thing on your mind is getting out of the house for your regular run or training session.

For two weeks, I didn’t exercise at all. The first two days, I was bed-ridden and over the following days I had an annoying, constant dry cough, so I knew trying to exercise would just make it worse.

The simple realisation, is that you have to be patient and rest!

Be good to yourself and others!

Have you ever been on a packed commuter train in the middle of rush hour and there’s someone in front of you coughing and spluttering away without covering their mouth? We don’t really want to hang around that person for too long do we?

If you’re experiencing symptoms, it’s highly likely that your cold or flu is contagious, so avoid groups of people, public places and even gyms where you’re sharing equipment. REST and stay at home!

Coming back too early

If you’re like me, you might get a little bit tetchy after two weeks being indoors and of no exercise. ‘Captain Caveman just wants to get out, he misses his post session, energising, serotonin hit.’ But that’s what I had to do recently – be patient! The fever might have disappeared, but the cold was still affecting my sinuses and chest.

After a week, I might have popped out for a short walk or two for 10 minutes, but nothing intensive.

If you come back too early to intensive training, you may find within a few days that certain symptoms return or you get a brand new virus. The cycle repeats all over again. That’s the downside of completing vigorous exercise at this stage, it will compromise your already weakened immune system.

What kind of training session should I start back with?

If you’re not sure when, the safest bet is to have a quick check with your pharmacist or doctor. Here’s how I came back to steady exercise again:

1. I test my abilities with a steady walk – maybe up to 30 minutes or an hour if its feeling ok. I know my heart rate for a walk might lie between 80-100 bpm. If it’s feeling more laboured and my heart rate is higher than that on a flat course, I know I’m not ready yet.

2. Two days later, I try a 10-minute gentle jog. The pace and intensity are nothing like my usual running rhythm. It’s very easy. On a rate of perceived exertion scale (RPE), I place it somewhere between a 4 and a 6 (10 being very difficult). In athletic terms, we call this intensity level ACTIVE RECOVERY. It’s an easy to low moderate level of training. I know I can sustain a talk throughout the entire 10-minute jog.

3. All going well, I give myself another couple of days rest (I might go for another walk, but nothing too strenuous on the heart and lungs). I then test myself with a 20-30 minute easy jog. Again, this is a low intensity pace, but I’m now extending the duration.

The vital message here is to listen and become aware of how your body feels. Use common sense. If you had a major event, a wedding or holiday soon after an ill patch, do you think you would rush back?

We can take a leaf out of the books of top athletes or sports people. Do you think your coach would rush you back straight after illness? Or would they want you at optimal fitness ready for the main event weeks later?

Come back too early, and you risk poor results for your competition or future fitness goals. The bottom line is this:

IF YOU WANT TO AVOID RECURRENT ILLNESS AND CONSTANT FATIGUE, ITS IMPERATIVE TO TAKE A PATIENT APPROACH TO COMING BACK TO EXERCISE.

Look after yourselves this winter!