Forcing yourself to engage in exercise is very difficult when you are not feeling well. It is really true that when you are sick, it is a sign that your body needs rest. However, it is indeed possible to help you recover quickly if you do some light exercises, as against totally abstaining from any kind of physical activity.
Completely being motionless will probably prolong your recovery time. We are not suggesting that you still engage in your regular rigorous exercises. But to help your body regain its bearings, you need some amount of calibrated exercises even while you are under the weather.
There is a general rule that is followed by health buffs. This is the ‘neck rule’. It says that if your symptoms are above your neck, such as stuffy nose, sinus pressure or sneezing, light exercises are generally safe.
So, here are some exercises that you can do while you are not feeling well. Doing them will make you feel less sick and even help you recover faster.
1. Qi Gong
Qi Gong is an exercise routine that is characterized by slow and mindful movement that is a cross between meditation and martial arts. These low intensity exercises will not help you break a sweat but it will help in improving your blood flow and in increasing your energy.
The Chinese use these exercises to heal their bodies and regulate their ‘chi’ or energy force. There are also some modern evidences that qi gong also has immunity boosting powers. For instance, it was found that varsity swimmers in the University of Virginia who practiced qi gong once a week have 70 per cent fewer respiratory problems than teammates who seldom practice it.
2. Walk
Of course, if you have colds, you will feel less energetic therefore; it is not wise to engage in rigorous physical exercises. But that does not mean that you cannot do some walking.
In fact, having a 20-minute walk may even help you get the normal results you usually get from regular exercise. It also might help improve your cold symptoms as well.
Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News chief health and medical editor says that “if your sinuses are plugged up, walking will stimulate you to take deep breaths and can help open up those passages.”
3. Dance
If you are fond of Zumba, this is the best time to do it for it will help you get out of the doldrums. Even just listening to the music while doing light work on the house will do wonders to your recovery.
A study found that those who just listened to around 50 minutes of dance music developed more cold-fighting antibodies, and had reduced levels of cortisol. Dancing is a good way to boost your immune system.
It is a low impact exercise which you can do at your own pace and will not be difficult to perform even if you are feeling low.
4. Jog
If jogging is a regular part of your exercise routine, you need not skip it if you are feeling under the weather. Andrea Hulse, a family practitioner of Osteopathic Medicine and also a runner says “My patients who are runners all say that running helps them feel better when they’re sick.”
However, you need to scale down your normal run level because your body is already in the process of fighting off the infection. But you can assist in the process of healing by doing light jogging.
To complete the discussion of the subject you also need to know the exercises that you need to avoid. There are certain types of exercises that you definitely need to abstain from if you are not feeling well. Here are some of them.
1. Weight Lifting
Lifting weight is absolutely forbidden even if your sickness is just a cold. Resistance training takes too much energy which you need to conserve at this time.
2. Endurance Running
This type of running is definitely not something that you can do while you are sick for obvious reasons. So, if you are training for a marathon, and you suddenly get the colds, you are to stop your training immediately and perform light walking only to hasten up your recovery time.
3. Gym Workout
If you are a member of Gold’s Gym or Lifetime Fitness, this is the time you need to skip your workout schedule. You won’t be able to control your cough or your sneezing and you don’t want the next fellow who will be using the treadmill that you used to catch your virus.
Do them a favor and do your light workouts in your home. In this way, you won’t be spreading your disease to any unsuspecting person who deserves to be in good health.