It's that time of year - besides the holidays - the head cold season. A recent article in the New York Times discusses whether to exercise or not when you have a cold. It presents results of a study which showed that a head cold did not impair overall exercise performance. Nor did exercising when you have a cold affect symptoms and recovery time. Fortunately, I maybe only get one cold a year, and have always tried to keep exercising albeit at a moderate level. At least mentally I always felt better.

Below is the link to the NYT article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/he...r=1&ref=health

I exercise during a cold and have done so since the mid seventies. It always seemed better to just keep going.

Gee, you don't look a day over 50! And Zicam at the first sign of a cold.

If you exercise every day you probably won't even get many colds.

Yep, there's nothing worse than feeling like poop for two weeks and simultaneously wimping out of your routine cause you rationalise that you are sick. If I don't do at least some exercise, I always feel worse - sort of like cabin fever on steriods. BLEAGHHHHH!

That pretty much sounds like me right now. I'm coughing so much and so hard, and feel so weak that a session on the trainer seems out of the question.

I do, however, agree with Velodiva's' advice... it's just that I'm a wuss.

I am not sure how much exercising I could do with a full blown cold. Slight congestion is one thing but when exercising causes coughing that almost makes one fall off the bike that is a cold. I guess we have to determine what some consider a cold. Mine is accompanied by a fever, red nose, watery eyes, a caugh that starts in deep in my lungs. I haven't had a bad cold in a year or so and maybe the riding I have been doing has kept me from catching one this year. I thought I was coming down with one the other day but it looks more like it was allergies and it passed.

However my doctor has never reccommended more exercise while I was recovering from a cold so this is something I might print out and ask about. He reccommends rest and liquids.

It sounds like what you have is worse than a cold. I hope you're feeling better soon!

From wikipedia:

I read that - good stuff. My rule - Go if its in the head, layoff if its in the chest.

Whats a cold?

Honest- and I do not know the reason why. I have not had a cold that has been bad enough to keep me off the bike for many years. I get snuffly- and the chest may ache a bit but providing I do not have a headache- I can ride.

Can't say for those self inflicted heads that come after a good night out though.

It must be a California thing.

Here in Connecticut, I'm cold all over.......but I still exercise.

I totally agree with V and H. By riding through the chilly temps in the winter my experience has been it has warded off most sinus and head stuff. However, if I ever do get a bpit of congestion, the cooler air seems to really open up the sinuses and I'm able to get rid of the issue by doing a good long ride......Riding is truly good medicine

The issue I run into with the infamous "flu-like symptoms" is the stuffed up head. Makes it hard to breathe.

As long as I don't have a fever or body aches, I ride. But, I do think that bronchitis, like I have right now, affects my performance more than a head cold does. I try to ride a bit easier with any kind of cold, but that's sometimes easier said than done, like when I was riding against 40 mph winds Friday.

You could be right. But after reading the what some think a cold is I went to web MD and discovered that what I mostly get I have always called a chest cold. Turns my colds often turn into Acute bronchitis. It seems that is more common for me. What I thoought was a cold is caused by a viral infection. "Acute bronchitis may also be called a chest cold." Or so says WEBMD.

I haven't had a cold in 2+ years, since we started riding bikes again. Next time one hits me, I'll try riding and see how I feel.

Something I read recently said to continue working out if it's from the neck up, but to rest if it's from the neck down. So keep going if it's a "head cold," and stop if it's a "chest cold."