It might be the last thing on your mind when you’re congested and miserable, but we swear it’s a genuine question we get asked.

When you’ve got exercise baked into your routine, do you have to take a break when you’re unwell?

Norman and Tegan unpack the nuance of exercising when you’re sick – when you can, and when you can’t.

References:

• The compelling link between physical activity and the body's defense system
• Moderate exercise induces trained immunity in macrophages | American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology
• Higher risk of upper respiratory tract infection post marathon running: when physical exercise becomes a threat to the immune system
• Sport and exercise during viral acute respiratory illness—Time to revisit
• Exercise effect on symptom severity, morbidity and mortality in viral infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis
• Effects of 60-day bed rest with and without exercise on cellular and humoral immunological parameters | Cellular & Molecular Immunology
• The effect of exercise training on the severity and duration of a viral upper respiratory illness
• Orthostatic reactions and blood volumes after moderate physical activation during acute febrile infections
• Exercising while sick won’t help you get over a cold faster – but it may prevent your next one

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