Should We Work Out When We're Sick?

Stuffy noses, sore throats, and sneezing abound, as cold and flu stricken exercisers everywhere begin to ask, "Will working out make me worse or make me better?"

A dedicated few believe in exercising no matter what. They come from the school of thought that you can "sweat it out" with a good workout, beat back your symptoms, and feel better.

Others equally dedicated to staying fit with regular exercise don't quite agree. They believe minimal activity and rest are more important to a speedy recovery and to the avoidance of a relapse.

So which is it? If you're experiencing cold or flu symptoms and weighing whether or not you should exercise, the "neck-up" rule is a good rule to apply. It's an exercise rule of thumb that divides cold symptoms, those typically felt from the neck up, from flu symptoms, which can be felt all over.

It's guidelines give the OK to moderate exercise, if your symptoms are all in your head, and recommend skipping exercise when you're experiencing cold and flu symptoms that hit below the neck.

Cold symptoms such as a stuffy nose, sneezing, watery eyes, or sore throat are experienced "neck-up," and are mild enough that you can treat the symptoms and continue to function well throughout your day. You can even exercise, though it's prudent to turn your intensity down a notch or two.

Flu symptoms, experienced neck-up and neck-down, usually involve common cold symptoms in addition to tiredness, fever, coughing with lung congestion, head and body aches. Flu is more severe than a cold and warrants skipping a few exercise sessions until you're back on your feet.

A study published by the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, validates the "neck-up" rule. Researchers found that people infected with rhinovirus, the virus most often responsible for the common cold, who exercised 40 minutes every other day, did not experience their head cold symptoms any differently than those in the study who did not exercise.

Caution, however, is the rule for below the neck symptoms. The recommendation from the American College of Sports Medicine is to avoid exercise when you're experiencing these more severe symptoms.

So, while "sweating it out" may be a common fitness myth, it is not the way to go. Our bodies fight off viruses and bacteria with our immune systems, so in truth no amount of sweat is going to dispel a virus from your body.