Welcome back to Caveat City, and while I think the bulk of my disclaimers are adequately laid out here, this seems like a subject where it makes sense to remind everyone: there are many times when you straight up SHOULD NOT train. Are you drenched from cold sweats, sporting a high fever, vomiting profusely, and/or lying half-dead draped over the side of your bathtub because you couldn’t quite make it back to bed after a shower? If this is you, please don’t train. Recovery is as important as — if not more than — sticking to a schedule; habits, momentum and strength will be built back up once you’re well again.
As always, please don’t confuse this newsletter with medical advice, and if your medically-trained person has given you advice that that contradicts what I say below, or your body disagrees with my advice, please listen to them over me.
I’m currently in the midst of/hopefully starting to recover from a rather annoying stomach bug which is just bad enough that I can’t do very much, but also not quite bad enough to incapacitate me. There are few things more frustrating than gathering some momentum in your fitness habits, only to have your body revolt against you as part of the universe’s attempt to hinder your efforts at improving your health.
I am also convinced that the key to me recovering from most illnesses largely stems from my sheer stubbornness in refusing to allow said constraints to affect my life, and doggedly willing myself back to being a fully functioning human. Exercise may positively impact some known diseases to the point of being considered a drug, so as a mild hypochondriac, there are probably worse things I could self-medicate with.
There are two situations in which I let said stubbornness reign supreme over (potentially) better judgement:
if I’m well enough to carry out non exercise activities (such tackling stairs, regular household chores etc) without feeling winded, and/or
if I am going insane from inactivity.
This infographic from Precision Nutrition is also a pretty good guideline on when it’s a good idea (or not) to get some activity in.
Even if you’ve determined that death has NOT come a-knockin’, these are some guidelines to keep in mind in order to be a good human being, and — in case anyone else’s welfare doesn’t impact your actions — in order to reduce the risk of worsening your own health while immunosuppressed:
if you’re contagious, please don’t go to a public gym
if you insist on going to a public gym, please be triply cautious about sanitising any equipment you use, inclusive of water fountains
if you start your workout but end up feeling poorly, remember that there’s zero shame in calling it earlier than intended
even if you feel amazing (especially if there’s a chance it’s the pre-workout talking), avoid hitting your pre-sickness numbers on your first (or second) day back, since overly stressing your body out may actually hinder your recovery in light of your compromised immune system
this is probably a good time to clean and air out your lifting belt, knee sleeves, wrist wraps and all the gear you normally train with; training without your regular kit will also help reduce the temptation of trying for any ill-advised PRs
And with that out of the way, these are some training strategies I employ, in ascending order of effort:
stick to short bouts of low intensity activity, like a walk around the block for some fresh air
try low impact workouts like (yin) yoga or home mobility routines
isolation/hypertrophy-centric work
bodyweight moves instead of weights for a change of scenery
work on technical issues/form with much lighter weights ()
stick to existing reps schemes, but lower weights drastically
get as many of your main work sets in as you’re able to, and cut out the any ancillary or supplemental accessory work