Should You Workout If You Have a Cold?

With the start of cold and flu season, but still wanting to stay fit, many of us might feel a little bit under the weather in the colder months of winter. The real question is: should you work out when you have a cold? Some symptoms won’t be much of a deterrent when working out, while others are better to skip a day or two.

If you feel like you can work out when you have a cold, it is important to understand that certain symptoms will affect your performance less than others. Additionally, a cold can make you very tired. You must work with your limits and understand that it is not an easy task to work out while under the weather. Usually, it is okay to work out if you are having the following symptoms:

Mild symptoms will not affect you much when exercising. While they might slow you down a bit, you can still work out. However, it is important to stay hydrated and be careful with the intensity of your workouts.

Earache is another symptom that should not affect your workout as much. However, the fluid buildup that causes earaches can affect your balance. If you have this symptom, it is a good idea to do workouts that do not require a lot of balancing. Additionally, you should avoid any exercise done in water.

Stuffy nose is one of the more difficult symptoms that you might have to deal with a cold. It is not impossible to work out with a stuffy nose, but it can be difficult since you might get out of breath more easily. Try to work out slowly and take breaks if you feel like it is getting harder to breathe.

Sore throat will not affect much of your performance if you stay hydrated and make sure that you are feeling well.

While there are symptoms that are okay to work out when you have a cold, there are some that you should not work out if you have them. These symptoms will likely affect your performance:

Fever is not common when it comes to colds. Therefore, you should be a little skeptical if you have a fever. Additionally, fevers raise your body temperature, and working out does too. Therefore, it is not a good idea to continue to raise your temperature.

Wet cough will put a strain on your lungs and heart, which need to be used when you are working out. Additionally, a wet cough is when you are coughing up mucus, which might result in you needing to take long breaks. Therefore, you should skip that day until you feel better.

Stomach issues and any other symptoms below the neck like chest congestion are not good when paired with working out. Therefore, you should stay home and relax to get back to exercising as soon as you feel healthy again.

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