Should You Workout When You're Sick?

You start to feel like something's coming on, so you think a good sweat will kick out the germs and having you feel better in no time, right? Not exactly, though there is some truth to the old wives' tale.

When we treat a cold, one approach is actually to induce a small sweat so that we can push out the sickness, but from the Chinese medicine view, the reason we become susceptible in the first place, is because our qi (energy) is not up to par and can't do its job of protecting us and keeping us well. This is why we're more likely to get sick if we're not sleeping enough, eating well, exercising or working too much. (You can learn more about this here).

But you just said not to go workout and sweat if I'm feeling sick. Right! The reason we don't want to workout is because that requires us to use our energy to produce that sweat, and remember, we're already low on qi if we're starting to get sick. In some cases, you might get lucky if you go workout, sweat, and feel better the next day, but it's more likely to further deplete your qi, making it even easier for that bug to take hold.

So what can you do for yourself when you feel like you're coming down with a cold or flu?

1. Take a hot bath, bundle up, and rest.

The hot bath will create a little bit of a sweat, and then you can get dry, put on warm clothes, and get to bed early for some extra rest.

2. Make a ginger tea.

Ginger can also help produce a sweat, but it needs to be spicy. Your best bet is to use fresh ginger root: peel, chop, and steep in hot water. If you can't find ginger root at your grocery store, you can use dried ginger (what you would use for baking) or bagged ginger tea. Just make sure it's concentrated enough to give you a little sweat. Put on warm clothes, and get to bed early.

3. Brothy soup with scallions.

If you have pho, Vietnamese Noodle soup, in your area, that's a super easy way to give yourself extra fluids, as well as create a little bit of a sweat--both from the heat of the broth, as well as the pungent nature of scallions. Then can you guess what I'm going to say?

Put on warm clothes, and get to bed early.

4. Have a drink.

A drink. Not two or three or more. Small amounts of alcohol can also create a tiny sweat and push out the sickness, because it moves your qi and blood. Having more than one drink, however, has the opposite effect. It could actually make it easier for you to get fully sick, because more alcohol stagnates our qi and blood. As above, make sure to get extra rest.

Check out the previous post for tips on how to stay well, but if you start feeling a little under the weather, try one or more of these tips at home to see if you can avoid getting totally sick.