3473: In Sickness And in Health (On Exercise) by Harold Gibbons with Mark Fisher Fitness on Healthy Training

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[00:00:30] This is Optimal Health Daily. In Sickness and in Health On Exercise by Harold Gibbons with MarkFisherFitness.com. And I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator. Welcome to a Tuesday edition of Optimal Health Daily. Remember, this is one of just a few podcasts in the world where blogs are read to you for free so that you don't have to read them yourself. Now to check out our other shows, just search for Optimal Living Daily wherever you're hearing this.

[00:00:57] All right, and with that, let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life. In Sickness and in Health on Exercise by Harold Gibbons with Mark Fisher Fitness.

[00:01:14] Everything that I'm about to say should be prefaced with this. As a child, I absolutely hated missing school. Sick days were worse than being sick. And I never understood the families that tacked an extra day onto a holiday weekend. We were already missing learning time. How could you take more away?

[00:01:33] The sensation of being sick is a universal sensation. Whether it's a mild cold you're trying to shake without any meds or something so serious that you require a stay with doctors. We can all agree that feeling sick means feeling pretty. While it's impossible to avoid, it is something that we can be prepared for. Quite often being sick throws a wrench into the gears of your well-lubricated life. How much it does so is entirely up to you.

[00:02:03] Skipping work. Chinese food delivery. Going to bed early. Sleeping late. Saltine crackers. Netflix. These are all commonplace when we're sick. We also free ourselves from any form of exercise. And our sole set of squats is spread out between visits to the bathroom all day. If you're really feeling it, that makes sense. But just like school, I'm not a fan of skipping workouts. Here's why.

[00:02:28] Skipping workouts is the gateway drug to not working out. After saying that, I now feel like an overprotective helicopter parent. It's not that there's anything wrong with taking a day to recover and rest. It's that the decision to do so may make it that much easier to make not going a new habit. When that decision becomes a habit, it makes me wonder about two things. One, you're getting sick so frequently that there may be a larger medical issue and you should visit your doctor.

[00:02:58] Or two, you're feeling less than stellar and using that as an excuse to not work out. If you're experiencing option one, let's figure out why you keep getting sick. Chat with your doctor, then we'll talk. If you're experiencing option two, we're in business. You see, there are plenty of things we can do to take care of you. When I had my first thought for this article, I was drawn to the psychology of when we should or shouldn't skip workouts.

[00:03:25] I was reminded that for the physiology side of things, Precision Nutrition published an article within the last year on the very topic called Working Out When Sick. I'd suggest reading through that for specific options. I'll let you read the full pieces from them. But a general pearl of wisdom for training when feeling under the weather is this. Don't go hard when you're sick. When you're sick, it's not the time to set a personal record, to up the weights, to cut into that 5k time.

[00:03:54] It's not the time to sneak in an extra set or mile. It's a time to take care of yourself, to use the physical activity to move just enough. Remember, this is a Goldilocks workout. Not too much, not too little, but just right. Sitting on the couch with your sniffles probably isn't going to help you feel better. Going to take the new Extra Tough Spin class probably is going to make you feel worse.

[00:04:20] Taking an easy walk, a bodyweight workout, or cutting sets off of your planned training day is going to be far better at letting you keep the physical training stimulus. But it's not really about that. Rather, it's about how we feel when we make health-enhancing decisions. How we feel when we invest our energy in ourselves. Invest in feeling better. Even if at the time, it takes a conscious effort to do so.

[00:04:48] We're tapping into our emotional capital of willpower. And while we might not be feeling all that hot, it's an investment that profits in the long run. Willpower isn't about just do it. There's some underlying structure and system there. When you've built the practice of regular workouts, and that system does not require willpower to follow, not following that system can throw us for such a loop that we need to reboot. And we use up even more willpower in the long run.

[00:05:16] It's that reboot that we're trying to avoid. As luck would have it, the exercise that's most appropriate for us when we're sick is particularly powerful for our brain. And we'll feed forward to feel even better in the future. That's a pretty good result of a casual workout. And a big reason why I think we should quickly double check when facing the question, should I work out when sick? If you're facing a day home from work, a potential doctor's visit, or are worried about being contagious, then probably not.

[00:05:45] I think you'll be good to go without the workout. However, if you're feeling mildly uncomfortable, I believe it'll be in your best interest to continue the practice you've established and physically modify as appropriate. You just listened to the post titled, In Sickness and in Health on Exercise by Harold Gibbons with Mark Fisher Fitness. And I'll be right back with my commentary. One thing I love about summer is how easy everything feels.

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[00:08:02] it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. There are actual studies to support the idea that a light to moderate intensity workout when

[00:08:31] we're experiencing a mild illness can help us recover faster. But again, note the key words there. Mild illness and light to moderate intensity. But then there's that caveat that I always talk about. Listening to your body. How does it make you feel to work out when you're mildly sick? I'll give you an example. After reading these studies about how a light to moderate workout can speed up recovery time when you're experiencing mild symptoms, I decided to give it a try.

[00:09:01] Yeah, I felt way worse after. Now, this could have been the workout that made me feel worse, or it could have been the fact that I hadn't yet gotten to the worst phase of the illness. Maybe it was something else altogether. But I just know I felt way worse after. Either way, because for me, staying active is such an important part of my life, I personally don't need to worry about skipping workouts once I do start to feel better.

[00:09:26] Like today's author, Harold, when I'm sick, I really miss working out and can't wait to get back in the gym. But if a mild illness may derail you from all of the progress you've been making, then maybe consider incorporating some light to moderate activity once you feel like you're on the mend and see how you feel. All right, that'll do it for today. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for being a subscriber of the show. Thank you for sharing the show with someone. I hope you have a great rest of your day,

[00:09:55] and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.