"Can Cold and Illness Affect Your Fitness Levels?"

"What is this cold? It's nothing. I'm not missing a run."

"I feel the stretch in my leg, but I have intervals scheduled today, I must stick to the plan."

"A little sore throat is no reason to take a full rest day. It was harder in the military unit."

Recognize this?

We all have those days when we are a bit sick, a bit injured, a bit not at our best.

And I'm not talking about a peak motivation to get up in the morning, I'm talking about peak physical condition our body is going through.

Many times, we face the dilemma of whether to stick to the plan despite the physical signals from our body or to take a rest day and listen to our body.

A few words on what happens to our body when we are sick, have a cold, are a bit injured, etc.

Our body is an amazing machine. Most of the time, it will give us almost everything we ask for, provided we know how to give it what it asks for.

Proper nutrition and adequate sleep are the foundation for everyone, especially athletes. But sometimes the body needs more, sometimes the body turns on the "check engine light" and signals us with physical pain, illness, etc. And when it signals us, it means it's fighting to heal. It recruits soldiers to fight that illness or pain.

Our ego wants to train, the fear of missing a workout and our fitness deteriorating or dropping sometimes worries us. But the truth is, that's not correct at all. A day or two of rest won't decrease fitness; on the contrary, there is a high chance the illness will dissipate, the strain or cramp will release (for example), and suddenly you'll experience that "wow, I'm in shape" feeling in the next workout!

Remember,

It's better to miss one workout day to gain months of peace than to train on a body that's physically signaling it needs a bit of a break and, God forbid, worsen the situation and miss days or weeks of training.

Always listen to your body.