It's been a while since I've been sick, so I think I may not have taken it as seriously as I should have, skiing the first few days, and taking it pretty easy, but not taking much time actually off. And it got me thinking about how easy it is to do stuff wrong, especially this time of year, when you're trying to get over a cold.
So, in order to keep ya'll from making the same mistakes, heres a bit of a to-do list of what to do when sick, and some random bits of knowledge I've picked up through the years as an athlete and as a student of exercise physiology.
First things first, The Neck Rule.
The Neck Rule applies to just about any sickness. If something is wrong below your neck DONT TRAIN. this includes mucus in your lungs, stomach aches, etc. If its above your neck, such as a stuffy head, possible ear infection, runny nose, etc, you can train VERY SLOWLY and not very long.
Most common reason for breaking The Neck Rule? "Crap I've got a race in two weeks, I need to get ready." REST IS GOOD!!! I've heard talk of some coaches telling their athletes that if they take a day off they lose 40% of their fitness. I'm not even kidding, one of my friends said her basketball coach told them that all the time. That is completely false. A day off will probably be more on the order of GAINING 4-5% than losing 40%. From the studies I've seen, it takes nearly TWO MONTHS of sitting on your butt to lose 40% of your fitness. Take home message? Take the time off, it will help much more than it will hurt.
So, lesson 1: follow The Neck Rule, and either don't train at all or train easy.
2: Drink a TON of water. I'm talking over a gallon a day, this makes a huge difference in the speed with which you kick the cold. A little tidbit here about other stuff you can take to make it go quicker: Vitamin C will not make your cold go away faster. It helps you not get it in the first place, but it won't help once you've got it. I've seen some evidence that zinc will help speed relief, but it should not be used in place of the basics, as it will help much less than say, drinking a lot of water or sleeping.
3: Eat a lot. Your body is working its butt of trying to fight this cold, make sure it has the fuel to do so. This means eating as healthy or healthier than you do when you train, and keeping up a high caloric intake. You aren't going to get fat if you eat a ton and don't work out for a couple days, and it will help you get over it.
4: SLEEP!!! Every chance you get. Go to bed early, and even if you can't sleep, rest. Read a book, do a puzzle, I'm a big an of crossword puzzles and sudoku when I'm resting, keeps me from getting bored.
5: Avoid as much stress as you can. You body does not distinguish very much between the physical stress of a workout, and the mental stress of waiting until the last minute to write a paper. So, that means that the more time you spend stressed out because you forgot to do something, or have run out of time, the harder it is on your body. So, try to figure out ways to relax when you're sick, plan things better, don't accept many new obligations, and try to just chill out about life in general.
So, in conclusion, drink well, rest well, eat well, and chill out.
Don't beat yourself up if you can't do it all. This is like the best option, don't stress yourself out (number 5), because you missed a meal (number 3). We're only human. I, for example, have put off a 20 page neuroscience research paper because I've had other things to do, like sleep. Am I increasing my stress? Yes. Do I know thats not the best thing to do? Yes. Then why do it?
Because nobody is perfect!! You can't do it all, but you can try to think of these 5 points when you make decisions throughout the day. You don't need to try to make every decision necessarily a perfect one, but make it a better one.
Pray for snow
Joe
Well hell, what have I been doing wrong?
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