[tomtom]

I presently have a category2 TomTomFlu^TM situation.

I really don't feel like dragging my aching carcass to the climbing wall - to try and keep some level of fitness (not been able to get out all week)...

Is it worth it? Is there any benefit in continuing to train whilst ill? I'm physically capable of getting to the wall and getting up and down quite a few things, but it won't be at anywhere near my peak (and training at/on my limit is my main aim at the moment)... Or can it actually cause harm/be detrimental?

[andy_e]

I'm fairly certain from having read somewhere on the internet it can do more harm than good, and help prevent your body from fighting the illness quicker...

[slackline]

having read somewhere on the internet

Most be true then.

[36chambers]

Take it easy and consider it a deload week?

[Oldmanmatt]

I'm fairly certain from having read somewhere on the internet it can do more harm than good, and help prevent your body from fighting the illness quicker...

I believe this is the official advice.
Rest is important too, you know.


All posts either sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek or mildly mocking-in-a-friendly-way unless otherwise stated. I always forget to put those smiley things...

[andy_e]

deload week

Does this involve laxatives?

[shark]

I think fingerboarding and bouldering are ok if you are ill but not stamina stuff. I have no evidence to support this. It's just what I do.

Bear in mind it's not nice to spread your cold around at a busy climbing wall

[Will Hunt]

Not to mention that by going to the wall you'll be spreading the contagion to other innocent climbers 

[36chambers]

deload week

Does this involve laxatives?

That would be a deload day, AKA the day before the big send. They have important differences. 

[tomtom]

Don't worry - I've already been to the supermarket to sneeze over all the uncovered fresh fruit and veg...

[tomtom]

T-Nation (I've no idea whether this is the athletic version of Brietebart or not..) says:

While it may seem counterintuitive, training while sick can be advantageous for three reasons:

1) It helps you get over a cold faster. Top strength coach Bill Starr states that training while sick "...helps flush useful healing nutrients through the body and aids in expelling toxins." In other words, training helps purge your sick toxic body and will get you back to normal faster.

2) You'll find that you're actually stronger when training while sick! How's this possible? Starr stated the following to one of his athletes, "I explained that when he got sick, his immune system released antibodies in profusion to combat the invading toxins and microorganisms. Those antibodies are strength enhancers. This is especially true in the early stages of any illness."

Hard to believe, but your body is stronger when you're sick than when you feel great. Look through your training log and you'll realize that you've probably already experienced this phenomenon. Think of a time when you felt great only to end up having a terrible workout. Now think of a time when you felt horrible and didn't feel like training, but sucked it up anyway and went on to have a fantastic workout.

Remember how empowered you felt afterwards? This feeling of empowerment is the third reason why training while sick is productive.

3) Sitting around and being miserable gets you further into the role of a victim. You admit to yourself that you're powerless and act accordingly. Be a man! Take charge of the obstacle and blast through it.

I'm calling BULLSHIT on 1 and 2...

[BicepsMou]

With an acute infection in my body, I wouldn’t do anything that substantially raises my heart rate because of the involved risk of a myocarditis. So bouldering and climbing would be out from my perspective.

I guess that strength maintenance work as e.g. finger boarding is OK though. Simply don’t do this with the ambition to build up strength (you won’t anyway and the body needs more resources to heal itself, as pointed out above).

For simple maintenance work, the stimulus can be much smaller than for development, so this should be your goal.


And yes - definitely agree to your BS verdict for Points 1&2!

[dave]

I reckon the odd bit of deadhanging won't kill you.

[Ti_pin_man]

it truly depends on whats up with you, if its a head cold then ma up and get your sorry ass out the door, if its gone to your chest or ears/throat then take it easy.  this was the approach on my cycling days/training I used to do and more or less worked.  a head cold often got kicked into touch with a long steady ride.

[erm, sam]

Don't do anything. Chill out for a few days.

[Oldmanmatt]

I reckon the odd bit of deadhanging won't kill you.

As opposed to just being hanged...


All posts either sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek or mildly mocking-in-a-friendly-way unless otherwise stated. I always forget to put those smiley things...

[finbarrr]

 

it truly depends on whats up with you, if its a head cold then ma up and get your sorry ass out the door, if its gone to your chest or ears/throat then take it easy.  this was the approach on my cycling days/training I used to do and more or less worked.  a head cold often got kicked into touch with a long steady ride.

That's close to my experience.
If it's a cold with just snot, moving for a few hours a day is better that sitting still.
If it's a flu with infected/pain sensations, anything more intense that walking is going to detract from getting healthier.

[submaximal gains]

Brukner and Khan's clinical sports medicine has a page on this; essentially if it's mild reduce the intensity of your training and give yourself more time to recover, if it's worse than mild, then just rest.

Viral illness

Viral illness is a common cause of persistent tiredness in the sports person. The immunological changes that occur as a result of prolonged intense training may result in the sportsperson having an increased susceptibility to viral illness, especially upper respiratory tract infections.
The sports person with a viral illness presents the sports and exercise medicine practitioner with a number of dilemmas. Should the sportsperson be allowed to continue intense training? Will continued intense training result in aggravation of the symptoms and the development of a more serious illness? If the decision is made to avoid intense training, is light training or no training preferable? If the sports person is about to compete, will performance be impaired as a result of this viral illness and, in team sports, will this affect the performance of the team and should a replacement be sought?
If the sports person does have time off from training due to a viral illness, when is it appropriate to resume training, and at what level? In these situations, each case must be considered on its merits. However, when a sportsperson presents with a viral illness and has an elevated temperature intense training is contraindicated as there may be the potential for serious illness to develop (e.g. myocarditis), or the sportsperson may prolong the illness or develop post-viral fatigue syndrome. In a sportsperson with a mild temperature. light training is permissible and may, in fact, have a positive effect.
In this case, the pulse rate should be kept below 70% of the maximum heart rate. When the viral illness is accompanied by systemic symptoms (e.g. muscle pain), training is contraindicated.
The conundrum of whether or not to compete with a viral illness is almost impossible to solve. In most cases, performance will be impaired when a sports person has a viral illness. However, there are anecdotal reports of excellent sporting performances in sportspeople who apparently competed while ill.

[duncan]

T-Nation (I've no idea whether this is the athletic version of Brietebart or not..) says:

While it may seem counterintuitive, training while sick can be advantageous for three reasons:

1) It helps you get over a cold faster. Top strength coach Bill Starr states that training while sick "...helps flush useful healing nutrients through the body and aids in expelling toxins." In other words, training helps purge your sick toxic body and will get you back to normal faster.

2) You'll find that you're actually stronger when training while sick! How's this possible? Starr stated the following to one of his athletes, "I explained that when he got sick, his immune system released antibodies in profusion to combat the invading toxins and microorganisms. Those antibodies are strength enhancers. This is especially true in the early stages of any illness."

Hard to believe, but your body is stronger when you're sick than when you feel great. Look through your training log and you'll realize that you've probably already experienced this phenomenon. Think of a time when you felt great only to end up having a terrible workout. Now think of a time when you felt horrible and didn't feel like training, but sucked it up anyway and went on to have a fantastic workout.

Remember how empowered you felt afterwards? This feeling of empowerment is the third reason why training while sick is productive.

3) Sitting around and being miserable gets you further into the role of a victim. You admit to yourself that you're powerless and act accordingly. Be a man! Take charge of the obstacle and blast through it.

I'm calling BULLSHIT on 1 and 2...

Any health advice with "toxins" in it is BULLSHIT unless talking about the likes of Cadmiuim, Mercury or organophosphorus. Ti_Pi_man's advice is the generally accepted version and usually works for me.

[fried]

I recommend curling into a ball in bed repeating 'cold, so cold' at anyone who'll listen, but still being able to enjoy a bit of single malt for medicinal purposes.

[Oldmanmatt]

Glad you beat me to that "TOXINS!" statement Duncan.


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[Oldmanmatt]

I recommend curling into a ball in bed repeating 'cold, so cold' at anyone who'll listen, but still being able to enjoy a bit of single malt for medicinal purposes.

I spent yesterday groaning pitifully and making my way through Sky movie's Sci-Fi & Fantasy section. Slept well, then managed to put in a full training session this afternoon. [emoji123]
Rest mate. Sometimes it's what you need.

Oh yeah, I ate obscene amounts of chocolate too, biscuits and a fresh cream shoe pastry.


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[petejh]

Yeah this ^.  I recently had a dose of deadly manflu and, while bravely fighting it off by lying around doing nothing and moaning a lot, used the 2-3 weeks of feeling like shit to treat myself to all manner of junk food recovery treats: chocolate, biscuits, beer, pizza, pringles, McD's. The McD's gave me food poisoning, and I'm as light now as ever 

[fried]

I spent yesterday groaning pitifully and making my way through Sky movie's Sci-Fi & Fantasy section. 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is that some sort of internet code?