Sport is an activity that is very good for your health. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, the more you exercise, the lower your risk of developing diabetes and cancer. Other studies have shown that exercise can also increase life expectancy by 3 to 7 years.
Well, there are so many benefits of exercise you can feel, but what if you’re sick, like a fever, headache, or chills? For those of you who have a hobby like sports, gym, or fitness, you must be asking yourself, “When can I start exercising again after an illness?”
Why shouldn’t you exercise when you’re sick?
When you are sick, your body will feel the effects. Not to mention exercise, it’s certainly difficult in normal and light activities. You don’t have to force yourself to exercise when you’re sick.
According to experts, stress is one of the main causes of diseases. This stress then produces the hormone cortisol, which plays a role in reducing the production of cytokines in the body. Cytokines are a group of proteins that heavily influence the immune system in your body.
When the production of cytokines decreases, the body’s immune system responds by stimulating the production of chemicals that the body needs to fight infection. The immune system will also take other steps to suppress the spread of harmful viruses or bacteria. When the immune system cannot function fully, the body responds to the pain you feel.
Although research shows that regular physical exercise can reduce stress, that doesn’t mean you should exercise when you’re sick. Physical activity that drains energy when you’re sick can put more strain on the body, which should focus on fighting disease.
Therefore, one should exercise when the body is healthy, not when it is sick. The only thing you have to do when you are sick is to heal yourself first.
When is it OK to start exercising again after an illness?
Starting exercise after an illness depends on the pain you are experiencing. Remember that every disease has a different healing time.
According to University of Montgomery professor Michele Olson, as quoted by Shape, one begins the first exercise after recovering from illness when one can confirm that their body temperature has been normal for the past 48 hours and that they no longer have a fever.
If your body no longer has a fever within 48 hours, you can slowly start exercising. Do not start immediately with the normal portion as before the illness. If you were 100% active before the illness, then start with a maximum of 20-30% in the first week. When you feel better, increase it to 70% the next day.
When can you then do the same exercise routine as before the illness? This depends on what type of pain you are in. If the illness is mild, like a fever, flu, or cough, wait a week or two. However, if the pain is severe, wait up to three weeks. You can then start training at the usual intensity.
Which sports can you do during or after an illness?
In fact, without waiting for full healing, you can engage in light to moderate physical activity to aid in the recovery process when you are ill. Edward R. Laskowski, MD, as quoted by the Mayo Clinic, explains general guidelines if you want to exercise when you’re sick.
- You can do light-to-moderate-intensity exercise if you experience upper neck symptoms, such as B. runny nose, stuffy nose, sneezing, or mild sore throat.
- Avoid exercising if you have lower neck symptoms, such as B. Chest tightness, coughing up phlegm, and abdominal pain.
- Do not exercise if you have a fever, are tired, or have widespread muscle pain.
Some types of exercises you can do when you are ill or after recovery, e.g. B. walking, jogging, cycling, tai chi, and yoga. Do it at a low intensity, which means maintaining a normal heart rate isn’t the same as exercising normally.
Don’t do high-intensity training, separate HIIT cardio, strength training, and resistance training. Also, avoid exercising in crowded places like the gym, as it can increase the risk of spreading the disease to others.
Start slowly with this physical activity and do not act hastily with your body. If you’re unsure about when to exercise after an illness, talk to your doctor to find out when and what type of exercise you can do.
Excessive exercise leads to weight gain! How can that be?
As the saying goes, “Anything too much is no good”. This also applies to sports and physical activity. Many people train desperately, increasing the amount of movement to achieve the ideal body weight. Unfortunately, overtraining leads to weight gain. Where from? See the explanation in this article.
So why does excessive exercise increase weight?
Every physical activity affects different functions and processes that take place in the body. However, the effect experienced by all is not the same. This can happen because the difference in hormone levels that each person has affects how fat is burned by the body (metabolism). Well, the process makes fat-burning results differ for each person, even though they do the same type and time of exercise.
Despite this, there are generally several reasons why excessive exercise increases your weight, namely:
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Eat more post-workout
Consciously or unconsciously, excessive exercise makes the body very tired. As a result, you get hungry faster because your energy supply is depleted. Well, such conditions cause you to eat more portions.
Not to mention the food choices you eat. You have been training hard to get rid of the accumulated body fat. Unfortunately, afterward, you end up eating foods high in fat, sugar, and carbohydrates. If you do, don’t expect the exercise you’ve been doing to show its benefits to your body.
Therefore, many experts recommend that the amount of exercise and the number of calories consumed are balanced. The goal is for fat burning to work in proportion to the calories burned during exercise.
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Stress
Exercise is a good thing, but it can also take a toll on your body. When you exercise properly, with good nutritional support, adequate rest, and proper recovery, the stress from the side effects of exercise can empower you. Rather, it strengthens your body against further stress.
However, when you exercise excessively, your body becomes unbalanced. This causes exercise to cause problems for your body, including weight gain. This is because the uncontrolled release of the hormone cortisol — a stress hormone — can increase the accumulation of fat around your stomach, which can make you gain weight.
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Increase in muscle mass
You can gain weight despite doing the exercise seriously and regularly. This is very likely. However, this weight gain isn’t just because you’re getting fatter, it’s because your muscle mass is increasing. This happens because muscle mass is heavier than fat. So your weight will increase even though the fat in your body has been reduced.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to use a special measuring device to calculate the fat content and muscle mass in your body. Normally, this special measuring tool is provided in the fitness center or gym.
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Exercise is not regular
You may be doing high-intensity exercise for long periods. Unfortunately, you don’t do these activities regularly. If you don’t exercise regularly, your efforts can go to naught as your body isn’t being challenged enough to exert itself, build muscle, and burn lots of calories. This causes the fat to build up in your body, which in turn contributes to weight gain.