Riding while sick
 

I've done this a few times. I have this idea that there are immune system benefits from moderate exercise - from sweating it out to increased endorphins and adrenaline; not talking about going all out into the hills. I'm at the tail end of a cold - the second I've come down with in 3 weeks and it's really killed my riding time lately. I blame my coworkers that horde their sick days and come into the office when sick. All I can think about is getting out there and spinning, but we've had a spat of 100 degree weather lately so I'm questioning the sanity of riding while sick in that weather. Do some of you ride while sick or do you listen to your body strictly and wait till you're all better? And what of the idea that exercise can help one get over a cold - any evidence for this?

There is an inexplicable fascination with this topic, and it reappears periodically. One might almost say it is like a bad penny.

In any case isn't the right answer to the question that you should ride when you feel like it and not when you don't? Is it really necessary to force yourself to do what you don't feel good enough for on some mythological or urban legend grounds? This is one decision that doesn't have to be "master-minded". IOW you don't have to intellectually find out and/or "know" what is the right thing to do on the basis of someone else's BS. Just do what you feel like.

It's obvious to me. Listen to your body. If you stand up and become nauseous and you know if you cycle, you'll collapse, go to bed. If it's just sniffles and maybe some aches, get on the bike or put on running shoes, or your swim trunks. Exercise is good when you're a little sick. If you're so sick exercising will compromise your body's ability to recover, then don't. It's common sense.

I know it's a topic that comes up from time to time as I've read plenty of posts on it, but so do topics like how many people shave and what wheels should they buy. I don't think asking how other cyclists approach sickness is any more or less mundane or valid. I generally agree with you that it's usually best to listen to one's body, but I've found a few times that it has gotten me into trouble. For example, a couple years ago I thought I was getting over a relatively minor cold and thought it would be good to flush it out by doing some riding. I ended up getting myself into a hammerfest with some friends and it was during that ride that I realized it was more like the beginnings of the flu. Right now it's not like I'm in bed with a 100+ temperature, but it's not just a little sniffle either. So I guess I'm trying to get a pulse on what the community generally does when they're at this end stage of a cold where they feel like it's a toss up between taking a few more days off or riding that day. It's something I'm genuinely curious about - other people's experiences. Even if you or someone else considers it to be BS.

When it comes to repeating common myths and urban legends, the reason for my asking is to see if someone has some weight to put behind whether moderate exercise actually has some merit in helping one get over a cold. It's like chicken soup - a great home remedy, but what is its actual utility? If anyone has concrete info and relevant personal experiences to share, that would be welcome. I would just go look that up on NCBI or pubmed or something but I already have already put days of man-hours in on that in my student research so I'm looking to outsource, haha. And I hope not to offend, but I've been hopped up on cold medicine for a week so that may be clouding my judgement.

If you have a head cold you can ride as hard as you want. With a chest cold you should cut way back with no hard efforts. If you have a fever stay at home. I have a 2 year old in day care, so I've had tons of experience riding sick lately.

When I'm kind of sick I like to use the trainer with no fan. Same principle but you don't expose yourself to the cold and you don't have to concentrate on road hazards.

It's not a bad idea, sweat it out but stop at any time. I absolutely despise the trainer but when you're right you're right.

This.

As an aside, back when I was in the military a medic told me this rule of thumb for strenuous physical activity with a cold/flu-type illness. Always made sense to me since:

If your symptoms are confined to the neck up (runny nose, sore throat, etc.) go ahead if you feel up to it.

If anything is going on below the neck, (chest congestion, body aches) --- don't.

If you have both, go to bed.

I don't know about directly, however, psycho-physiologically there are definitely benefits. Have you ever heard how people are more likely to get sick right after an extended period of stress? This is psychophysiology. Cortisol release is a detriment to immune system function among many many other things. The opposite is also very true regardless of current stress levels. Anything that makes you happy improves your physiology by way of psychology, and in turn your body gets boosts in all areas, including the immune system.

As basic a description as possible, but the science is there to back this up as well if you need to fulfill a desire for more complex understanding. That aside, if you are very sick, there is also the physical factor that is a detriment in using up energy, becoming dehydrated, and generally putting your body into debt. I think this just takes common sense.

I use an Omegawave reading each morning to help guide intensity levels. The results often coincide with how I feel, but it can also surprise. Sometimes I get the green light to go back to normal intensity before symptoms improve.

Didn't you just reinforce my post? The "flush it out idea" was clearly bogus. You rode while not well and paid for it. You were listening to your head, not your body.

This is clearly the most important part regardless of what exercise you are doing and condition. Don't always listen to supposed experts in sports medicine or whatever else. Do what is good for your body, know your body. If you feel tight after the ride or even mid ride, stretch. If you feel your legs haven't recovered from the ride before, don't push it. If you pull something, don't put more stress on it, you'll only make it worse. It's common sense if you just pay attention to what your body is saying. As they say, if you are thirsty, then you're already dehydrated. If your getting a headache during your ride, your blood sugar is already low, your brain and heart are the most sensitive to low blood sugar and perfusion issues.

There is a saying, don't treat just by the numbers and the supposed best practices. Treat the patient, patient being yourself. Treat your symptoms.

Yes I did reinforce your post, I was agreeing with you. As for flushing it out, we could argue on the psychophysiological aspects. But it's clear some people get sore about this topic being brought up so I'll drop it like a new fred on crabon wheels.

My point was that the kind of trite platitudes you get from asking this question (like "flush it out") are in no way useful for this kind of decision making. You know, kind of like your training buddy telling you to "just walk off" a leg injury. If you are well enough to ride, you'll know it. You don't need for yourself or your forum buddies to push you out onto the road in order to HTFU. BS!

ill offer a resounding NO. its not worth it to ride while sick, you'll take longer to recover from the initial sickness and you wont do your cycling fitness any favors. just take the week or two off and recover right. i had a gnarly cold back in october, road through it, took me a month to get better, compromised my general health and cycling and wonked out my knee. knee didnt heal right until april......

Gotta agree with not riding when sick.

I did a race with a chest cold once. I had it the night before, and at every step of the way from setting my alarm to getting on the line for the whistle I told myself I could pull out at any time. And never did.

Big mistake. A week later I was at my doctor, getting antibiotics for bronchitis. Two weeks later I was back at my doctor, fluid gurgling in my lungs, getting ANTIBIOTICS for pneumonia. I then had a deep hacking cough pretty much all summer. Pretty much ruined my entire race season.

Head cold yes recovery ride pace, chest no, stomach can get messy so no.

I essentially agree with this. But if there is a 'real' threat of getting messy, I would just hop on my trainer and lightly spin for about 20 minutes. I pretty much always feel like a super easy ride makes me feel better.

Where does this witch doctor mumbo jumbo come from? Do you wear a rubber insulating suit to really work up a good sweat too? This is 2014.

When I get sick and decide I want to ride - I ride.

You're making things too complicated.

I got sick a week ago. The sore throat/aches were gone after a couple days, but since then I've had a persistent runny nose/cough.

It adds a bonus challenge to riding in traffic when you're choking and swerving as you pedal along.

I think one needs to be careful about truly pushing limits when sick... the sick body is in imbalance. To get anywhere near a properly defined "limit" means pushing the system to the edge of a failure mode. Or multiple ones. A sick body is much less predictable, and enzymatic or electrolyte or mineral imbalances could be literally dangerous-- if pushed to limits.

That said- I ride sick. I climb sick. In the end, I believe that I'm STRONG and that my body, and immune system, are fairly invincible.

Yes I know that's not true. But it's a good head space to carry around. :)