My head cold did get me to thinking, at what stage of being sick should you stop working out? Obviously I know the answer if it's something serious like pneumonia, but what about the more minor stuff that everyone gets from time to time? So I decided to do what everyone who has an unanswered questioned now a days does, I googled it.
The answer's actually fairly straight forward. If you're sick from the neck up, meaning sneezing, sore throat, nasal congestion, and a runny nose (basically everything have) then you can workout like normal. Just be prepared to ease up if you feel dizzy or anything like that during the workout. If your symptoms are below the neck, like chest congestion, stomach issues, or a chesty cough go ahead and give yourself a break. Working out when you're this kind of sick will just do more harm than good. The below the neck rule also applies to all over muscle ache, fatigue, and fever. It all boils down to, exercise a cold and rest any type of the flu.
One thing I would add is that if you don't work out at home like me, maybe you should take a break from working out even if your illness is above the head. I just think it would be inconsiderate to go to the gym when you're sick, especially if you're not sure if you're still contagious or not. You really wouldn't want to catch the same illness back in 2 weeks time from someone you originally infected.
As all my symptoms are above the neck I'll keep going as I have been, 30-50 minutes of circuit training, the burpee challenge, and loads of walking. Hopefully I'll feel better by my next post.
Tara
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/AN01097
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/13/health/he-matters13
http://exercise.about.com/cs/injurieshealth/a/injuryillness.htm
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