I’ve been coping with flu for a week now, much better but not 100% just a bit of cough and runny nose. I’ve read that it’s better to avoid activities and sports that make more use of your body. I’m boxing which can be demanding even if you are healthy. Other than infecting others and tiring yourself more easily, what are some reasons to avoid sports when you are not completely recovered?
In: Biology
When you’re sick, your body is busy fighting off the flu. If you do hard activities like sports, your body has to work even harder. This could make you stay sick longer because your body can’t focus all its energy on getting better.
man i feel you on the flu struggle its the worst. when you push yourself too hard while still sick your body just goes back to square one. plus your immune system is like way weaker so you might catch something else for real. better get back to boxing when you’re feeling solid. no one likes being in the ring like that. stay strong!
This is a fallacy.
There were a number of Scandinavian cross-country skiers that had cardiac incidents when training with colds/flu, leading to this advice.
It later transpired that they were heavy EPO users, leading to thickened blood.
So unless this applies to you, train if you feel ok doing so.
I think whoever tries to answer this better come in armed with journal articles for citations..
You don’t want to run the risk of overworking yourself and fainting. It’ll be a coinflip on if you faint in a way that wont injure yourself. Would hate for you to have a cankle because you fainted and couldn’t fall properly.
If you feel more or less ok you can go for a walk or a mild bicycle ride but to much physical strain uses up to much energy your body still needs to have a sufficient immune response, because thats also very energy demanding (thats also why you usually feel very drained while sick). Also usually the flu is caused by viruses which can spread again because your immune system is restricted and bloodflow is hightend by a lot, which can cause a flare up of symptoms, more strain on the sinuses and the bronchia (it will take more time to recover enterly). Especially in young men to much sport befor recovering from sickness can cause heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis) caused by the hightend spread of the viruses in the body.
Like with many other things its all about the “correct dosage”
Edit: corrections
dude recovery is like charging your phone. if you keep using it while it’s low battery it’ll crash. your body needs all the juice to bounce back 100%
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