Your nose has been feeling blocked since morning and now, your throat is starting to get scratchy. Should you text your personal trainer to skip today\u2019s gym session?\u00a0Or it could be the first day of your period \u2013 and you don\u2019t feel like putting your bloated and crampy self into tight Lycra.<\/p>\n
The temptation to forgo your workout is always there. But when there is also a nagging discomfort, what do you do? And what can happen if you push through?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Benson Poh, a personal trainer and the director of Vigeo Personal Training, isn\u2019t surprised that there are people who are unaware of whether they should be exercising or not. \u201cSome days, they train through something they really should not. Other days, they skip a session over something minor that would not have set them back at all. It\u2019s all guesswork.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR?<\/p>\n
To take the uncertainty out of your predicament, symptoms below the neck, including fever, chest congestion or an upset stomach (such as diarrhoea or vomiting), are generally red flags for exercise, said Dr Grace Chiang, a consultant family physician with Alexandra Hospital. \u201cThese symptoms may worsen your illness or may be dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because prominent below-the-neck symptoms could signal a more serious condition, said general practitioner Dr Tan Hui Li from HMI Medical Centre. For instance, chest pain or tightness, or a shortness of breath could mean that the lungs or heart is affected. \u201cGenerally, if this is the case, increased exertion can worsen the condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not only that, added Dr Chiang, your heart needs to pump harder during exercise and this function might be impaired during an illness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moreover, your body\u2019s \u201cability to regulate heat may be affected during an illness\u201d, said Dr Chiang, \u201chence, exercising may lead to a higher risk of heat injury\u201d. Also, \u201cour immune system is weakened when we are ill, and exercise\u00a0is a physical stressor that can prevent the immune system from recovering\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU STAY OFF EXERCISE FOR?<\/p>\n
The symptoms of common, self-resolving ailments (such as a cold, migraine or diarrhoea), along with your energy level are expected to improve or resolve within a few days, said Dr Tan. But if you\u2019re still \u201cfeeling significantly fatigued and discomfort or pain\u201d, prioritise rest. \u201cMedical evaluation may also be required if the symptoms do not improve or are severe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your nose has been feeling blocked since morning and now, your throat is starting to get scratchy. Should…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[674,337,97],"class_list":{"0":"post-602723","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-exercise","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}