Returning to Exercise After Being Sick

I have been sick. Really, really sick. For weeks. It started as a stomach bug. The usual gastrointestinal discomfort. I say the usual, but honestly, there were times when I thought that something had died inside of me. Seriously, it was that bad.

This went on for about a week and then one morning, all of a sudden, it went away. But, wait. Hold your applause. That morning I woke up with one of the worst coughs that I have EVER had. I was still sick and the cough was so bad that I could barely speak. While the prospect of me losing my voice was a positive for my wife, it wasn’t ideal for me, and it meant that I was dealing, most likely, with some strain of the flu.

For about two weeks I was coughing and sneezing, and dealing with sinus pressure that made my teeth hurt. It sucked. And, every time that I would start to feel better, every time that I start to get a little bit of energy, start to not feel sick, I, like an idiot, would go out and do something. I would go to the grocery store, go to the range to shoot, even go outside and start my exercise week. It always wound up ending the same way, though. Cold sweats, nausea, and me wiped out with an empty tank.

Finally, after over three weeks of being sick in one form or another, I am finally better. My voice is still a little raspy, but I’ve got my energy back. I’ve worked out for a full week and, yeah I’m tired, but I’m not smoked. I still have energy left in the tank, and that let’s me know that the fatigue from being ill is gone.

I telling this story so that you don’t do what I did. So that you don’t follow the fools path of, “Oh, I feel better. Why don’t I just jump right back on the horse?” Wait. Be sick. Lay in bed. DON’T be a bonehead like me.

According to Matthew J. Rachwalski, DO, a Michigan City sports medicine specialist with Franciscan Health Sports Medicine, “You actually put yourself at risk of getting sicker if you do strenuous physical activity while you deal with an active infection”. The article that this quote comes from, Returning to Exercise Safely After Illness on Franciscan Health’s website goes on to give another piece of good advice, “When you’re sick, it may be just as important to take a break from your regular fitness routine as it is to stay active when you’re healthy”.

I did not take this advice, but I am taking the advice that they give for when you’re feeling better. “Move Forward Gradually”. Start off at a lower volume (weight) and gradually build up your exercise intensity and endurance.

I am a knucklehead in most things. I tend to push my limits and, because of this, I have a tendency to wind up right back in a sickness or injury loop. But, not this time, though. This time, I’m taking the doctor’s advice. I’m going to throttle it back and do it right. Remember, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

Michael Sahno, MS APK, TSAC-F