Week 11 – Don’t Do This In the Gym After Being Sick
Mary is feeling much better this week and is back at the gym.
Her recovery was better than that of previous illnesses. She noticed that symptoms didn’t drag out for weeks this time around.
Maybe she was lucky…or maybe she’s reaping the benefits of a strengthened immune system.
When you’ve been exercising consistently, making nutritious food choices and sleeping well, the body can mount a stronger immune response to illnesses. Even small changes like adding sufficient protein to your diet supports the T-cells, B-cells, and antibodies which make up our immune response, identifying foreign particles like viruses and bacteria and destroying them before they wreck havoc.
Our bodies are pretty cool!
Don’t Do This After Being Sick
After bouncing back so quickly Mary wanted to pick up her exercise routine exactly where she left off.
While it’s exciting to get back in the gym, Coach advised Mary to “exercise” some caution and gradually work her way back to 100% intensity.
We aren’t invincible. Being ill can have side-effects.
After the prominent symptoms of illness subside, side-effects can easily last another 3-7 days including reduced energy levels, dehydration, and slower recovery between workouts.
For these reasons, it’s important that Mary tames her excitement to continue her exercise routine where she left off, but ease into her first week back.
How to Ease Into Training After Being Sick
Here are a few ways she can do this:
- Reduce the weights lifted
- Rest longer between sets
- Skip back to back workout days by putting rest days in between
- Get an extra hour of sleep each night
The key with recovery is listening to your body and responding appropriately.
Too much of anything is never a good thing and that’s for exercise too.
Just focus on doing the right amount of exercise at the right intensity.
You’ll be back at 100% soon enough.
