Can you exercise if you catch a cold?

Studies have shown that moderate exercise can reduce the number of days when cold symptoms appear by half. It doesn't work for everyone, but it can be judged by a simple method-the neck rule. If you have cold symptoms above the neck, such as stuffy nose, itchy throat and headache, you can do moderate jogging, brisk walking or strength training. Once you have a fever, chest tightness and limb weakness, you should stop exercising and have a good rest. Need to be reminded that if headache is accompanied by chills and pain all over the body, it may be an early symptom of fever, so don't exercise any more.

Darryl rosenbaum, an expert in sports medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in the United States, suggested that when people with colds start exercising, the intensity should be halved. If the cold symptoms are relieved after 5- 10 minutes, you can gradually increase the intensity, but not more than 80%-90% of the usual exercise.

In addition, Jeffrey Woods, a professor of motor function at the University of Illinois in the United States, said that you can use the "neck rule" to test whether you can continue to exercise. However, when exercising, if the symptoms above the neck are serious, you should stop exercising, otherwise it will be counterproductive and make the cold period longer.

It should be pointed out that a large amount of water must be replenished in time during exercise to prevent dehydration. In addition, for healthy people, upper respiratory tract infection is most likely to occur in a few hours after strenuous exercise. So, if you run for 10 minutes, you'd better have a rest and keep warm. When exercising in the gym, wash your hands in time after using treadmills, barbells and other equipment.