| My inspiration for
this edition’s column comes from two of my clients, we’ll just
call them Mike and Richard, who have been having a difficult time
exercising regularly due to several bouts of sickness. Like many
of you out there, they caught a viral infection first, followed
by a bronchial infection. It seemed it just kept getting passed
around and coming back because adequate rest wasn’t taken in order
to fully get over it.
You may already know this, but the single most effective way
to keep from getting sick is simply washing your hands regularly
in order to prevent the spread of infection. Think for a minute
about how many germs you come in contact with on a daily basis—shaking
hands, opening doors, touching community equipment. Germs lurk
in all of these places just waiting for their next victim. After
you open the door and enter your work environment, you inadvertently
rub your eyes, eat, or touch your face, and now you’ve just opened
yourself up for infection!
If after trying all the preventative measures that you can, you
still get sick, then you need to do everything in your power to
get over it fully and as quickly as possible. For starters, be
sure and get plenty of sleep. During sleep is when your body has
its best chance of fighting off infection. I’ve seen many people
try to get back to work too quickly, taking on a full load, just
to find out that they weren’t fully over whatever they had, and
now it’s come back. Speaking of taking on a full load, stress
can also weaken your immune system causing you more susceptibility
to colds than otherwise. It’s very important to maintain a balance
in life with your stress levels. Some stress may increase your
productivity, while too much inhibits you.
Another mistake I frequently witness is the sick person that
thinks it’s better to work out than rest. It’s just the opposite;
you should rest before you get any sicker. People feel the beginnings
of a cold, but go the gym and train hard anyway, lowering their
immunity in the process. If you feel something coming on, take
care of it so you can get rid of it before you get sicker. Once
you’re back on track you may find it difficult to train at the
same intensity you were prior to getting sick, but just take your
time and work yourself back up to where you were. You may also
feel unmotivated or even depressed from missing your workouts.
Just get yourself back into your routine and before you know it,
you’ll be back up to your usual levels. The best thing you can
do is start out at a lower intensity and build up gradually over
the next week or two.
©Melissa Allen, Optimum Condition. Melissa is a certified personal
trainer, Blackbelt & fitness consultant, as well as the owner
of Optimum Condition—custom fitness services and mobile personal
training. She is a self-syndicated columnist who welcomes input
from her readers, so please contact her with any questions or
comments by calling (619) 252-4993, or visit her website at www.OptimumCondition.com.
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