You have a cold? Should you exercise?

A recent study sponsored by the American College of Sports Medicine indicates that moderate exercise while suffering from the common cold does not affect the severity or duration of symptoms.

It is a widely accepted notion that exercising and staying fit will reduce the risk of getting sick, but nothing has been previously documented to show whether exercising while suffering from a cold would reduce or intensify symptoms.

The common cold affects us all, and the average American gets sick up to six times a year, but will you exercise when you’re not feeling well, increase or decrease your ability to fight illness and reduce symptoms?

The study, led by Thomas G. Weidner, Ph.D., Ball State University in Munich Indiana, involved 50 moderately fit student volunteers, who were randomly divided into two groups: exercising and non-exercising. Each volunteer was injected with the cold germs and followed for a period of ten days.

All subjects kept a daily record of physical activity. The exercise group exercised by running, bicycling, or using a stepper machine for 40 minutes every day, at no more than 70 percent of their maximum capacity (as measured by heart rate reserve).

At study completion and after analysis of exercise data, symptom severity, and actual mucosal weight measurements, there was no significant difference in symptom severity or duration in the exercise group. or their inactive counterparts.

The study revealed that exercising at a moderate intensity level does not intensify cold symptoms or compromise the immune system. It seems that a moderate level of intensity is not enough to alter the immune response.

Reader beware, high intensity exercise such as weight lifting or high intensity aerobic training has been shown to have a negative impact on the immune system during a cold or any respiratory infection.

Symptom Guidelines for Exercise:

Runny nose, sneezing, itchy throat only Safe for exercise at low intensity levels.

Fever, dry cough, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea Exercise not recommended, resume more vigorous physical activity when cold or infection has cleared.