Training through sickness: An important message

A little while ago I had a request to write an article about training through sickness. It's a great topic, one I think a lot of athletes struggle with. I say athletes because regular people who enjoy exercise usually have no issue with taking a break from burpees to nurse a cold. Sometimes, really "motivated" (see: obsessive) regular people, like myself, feel the need to train through a cold. For me, the joy of riding my bike is only enhanced by the pleasure of launching snot rockets past my shoulder (downwind of course) every 5 seconds. Be that as it may...wanting to train through sickness is something all dedicated people struggle with. You might be wondering if, what, when, and how you should be exercising when you are sick. The most important issue we will cover today is the "should". 

SHOULD YOU EXERCISE WHEN YOU ARE SICK?

Before I answer that, riddle me this....why are you exercising when you are sick? Are you Usain Bolt? Serena Williams? If so, I am very flattered you are reading this blog. More likely you are an amateur or recreational athlete, or a very dedicated exerciser (own that title). If your personal livelihood is your sport, we can have a different conversation. If, however, you pursue sports and/or fitness for personal pleasure and enjoyment, let's cut the bull-chips. You will not die from a rest day. Or three rest days (in a row!). There, I said it. You do not have to train through sickness because your rent payments do not depend on it.

Here is a scenario: you have been killing it at the gym, hitting PRs on all your lifts, smashing your old run times, or making leaps and bounds in your mobility (not as exciting? Give mobility a chance ok?!) you go to sleep full of hopes and dreams about the future based on your new status as ultimate champion. The next morning you wake up with a tickle in your throat. Never mind that, you say, as you head out to your morning spin class. An hour later you throw a smoothie down your gullet hoping to soothe what is now definitely a scratchy throat. Feeling fatigued at work you can't remember which "their" to use (was it there? they're? what about thear....no that can't be right)...things aren't looking good for you. At the end of a long day you make it home and immediately rummage through the medicine cabinet to find something...anything...to relieve the pressure that is now building up through your nose and into your temples. Congratulations! You are now officially mouth-breathing for the next 72h hours. Tired and achey you head to bed for what is sure to be a restless night while you enjoy the ever-familiar post-nasal drip. Your partner is super pleased you brought your germs to bed. The next day, do you call the boss and cash in that sick-day you've been holding out on? Take the day to rest, soothe, and repair your sickly body? Nope. You hit the gym because you're hard as nails. WRONG.

YOU HIT THE GYM BECAUSE YOU ARE AFRAID TO TAKE A REST DAY.

Believe it or not, taking a rest day does not immediately erase all of your training gains. The belief that training through sickness is somehow tougher, grittier, and more hardcore than listening to your body is lunacy. Taking a rest day when your body is basically screaming for one does not make you less than. It makes your future training more than. I doubt that the only reason you choose to train through sickness is because you are afraid of losing gains...I think the reason you struggle with resting when you are sick is because training is part of your identity. Without your daily sweat ritual and rush of endorphins you don't feel like yourself, and that's a pretty craptacular feeling. Newsflash: the combination of laying on the couch, sucking on lozenges, and binge-watching daytime TV does not suit anyone. You are not supposed to feel like yourself when you are sick. Your body is fighting a war against foreign invaders. It doesn't have time to comfort you about your fear of missing out on your workout. Ain't nobody's macrophages got time for dat. Instead of giving your body the time it needs to heal and repair, you amble off on a so-so workout trying to "sweat it out" giving your body even more stress to deal with. Why? Have you ever considered that 1-3 days of rest might mean you get back to serious training sooner, with more energy? If the real goal is performance, and you know that resting will get you back on your game sooner then why would you train through sickness? It's not rational. I'll tell you why you choose to exercise through sickness:

YOU FEEL GUILTY.

Exercise makes you feel good about yourself. You train because you like how it makes you feel. When you are training and seeing results your self-esteem increases and you become more confident. You associate those good feelings with exercise. You might even fall into a dangerous cycle of rewarding yourself on days you train and punishing yourself (mentally, physically, emotionally....you name it) on days you don't. You associate fitness with health, happiness, and abundance. You associate rest with laziness. You physically feel lazy when you don't exercise. When you are sick, you desperately crave what it feels like to be yourself again and you'll do pretty much anything to get there. That's why we have medications that mask pain, de-congest stuffy noses, soothe sore throats, and dull headaches so we can get back to whatever extremely important task we are supposed to be doing rather than resting. Cue eye roll. It's amazing how hard you will push yourself in training, commendable even. However, you don't apply the same aggressive approach to recovery...why? You know it's important you just don't value it the same. You have to see rest as an equally important part of your training. Neglect it and you will likely catch a cold or worse, acquire an injury. I have yet to meet an athlete who takes too much rest. If you are someone who even asks the question, should I exercise when I am sick?....you have no issues with dedication to your training. You have a fiery passion that consumes you when it comes to your fitness. No external motivation needed. More burpees? No problem. Another set of 400s? You got it. Add a second workout to Tuesdays? Yay! Take a rest day? Ew...

YOUR AVERSION TO REST STOPS HERE.

I give you my permission to rest when you are sick. I give you validation that you are a hardworking, ass-kicking, tough-as-hell athlete even on the days you rest. I admire your dedication to performance on the court/field/track/rink but I admire you more when you take the time to rest and recover. You are setting an example for every other athlete on your team that performance is prioritized above ego. You don't jeopardize the health of your teammates by struggling to get through practice while spreading your infection. You know that real heroes don't push their bodies to the breaking point only to disappoint on race day. You care enough about your own performance and the performance of your team that you take the time to rest, recover, and show up better than you were the day before. You are confident in your self-image. Your self-worth does not change whether you are crushing PRs or sipping chicken noodle soup in your jammies. You are next level. You are the ultimate athlete.

Do you know someone who needs to hear this? Share this article and give someone you care about permission to rest when they are sick.

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Sincerely,

Coach P.