bigdo13

I know the general consensus usually is, if you have a cold let it pass b4 you start training again...

eff that... I've been in the HTFU mentality all this past week and this week while nursing a cold. My symptoms have been fluctuating.. started off with a really bad sore throat, which I was still able to get out there and ride with for a good deal of km's. The ensuing 4 or 5 days have seen the symptoms mutate into coughing up yellow phlegm (TMI, I know, lol) a badly congested nose and some minor body aches..I still have been hitting the trainer, rollers and MTB for short rides though. All in all I'm pretty proud of how I've been fighting through it... and when I get a good sweat going i tend to feel normal for a bit...

My question basically is, for this week, what are the old (or new) school tips on how to keep getting through this? I've been killing the Vitamin C gummies and hydrating like a madman... Still getting some brain fog in the saddle though... was just wondering what all the veteranos have to say...

tekhna

Just get well. HTFU is cute but it's not actually a solution to anything.

milkbaby

^what tekhna said...

The usual advice is symptoms above the neck, okay to take it easy; symptoms below the neck, be very careful, not exercising may be better.

You will lose a lot more fitness if exercising while ill delays or worsens your illness rather than just taking a few days off or taking a few days extremely easy. Look at your goals as firstly to get well, then secondly just maintaining fitness or slowing fitness loss, not trying to build any fitness.

rpenmanparker 

That coughing thing seems to have gotten more and more common in the last few years. My own experience and what others are saying. If the phlegm is that colored, you may have a bacterial infection. Especially if the nasal mucous is colored also. Seeing an ENT wouldn't hurt. Also I have been burned a few times by a very serious relapse due to not just resting through the entire course of the illness. Found myself bedridden for a couple of weeks due to (it seems to me) trying to get to normal activities too quickly. There is nothing you could be training for that would warrant not resting through this illness. Period.

merlinextraligh

Your cold may have progressed the way it did, even if you hadn't trained through it.

But there's a pretty good chance that you turned a sore throat into a chest cold that is going to take longer to get rid of, and hurt your fitness and training, more than a few days off the bike would have.

palesaint

In general, it is colder and drier this time of year. Do plenty of steam/mist breathing and take 800-1200mg of guaifenesin daily to loosen mucus. I am a huge fan of nasal irrigation for decreasing illness duration. Pop plenty of vitamin C and drinks loads of water.

Do all this and get plenty of rest and I believe you can get some nice hard rides in without any setbacks.

jrossbeck

My rule of thumb is I will continue to exercise as long as my symptoms don't start to migrate down towards my chest. Runny nose, minor cough, sure. Sore throat, congestion in my chest - no. You don't want to stress your lungs towards capacity and breath that stuff deeply into your chest.

What I do is use those days to focus on stretching and core work. I know stretching isn't fun for most, but most of us probably don't do as much as we should, and it allows you to do something that benefits your overall fitness without worsening your illness.

Stucky

REST, and get-over the damned thing faster...then you can ride to your heart's content.

Your body's telling you it needs a rest. Listen to it! Take a few days off, and just rest and take care of yourself- you'll be glad you did. Self-flagellation is not a virtue. How you treat your body when you're sick is just as important- nay, even more so, than how you treat it when you're well; and more important than training/exercise/etc.

BillyD

Meh, let him have it his way. "A hard head makes for a soft behind" is what my mom would always say.

BillyD

She also said "Experience is the best teacher".

bigdo13

so the consensus seems to be I'm over-doing it?

Maybe i will just shut it down then....

RIRview

A word from someone who had the same idea...I was the one who started this thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...l#post17511734

Trsnrtr

If it's in the chest, forget it. Even if it's not, your legs will probably feel heavy. Give it a few days.

djb

so you are going to decide on your own behavior about your own health from the opinion of strangers on the interwebs?

do what you want and learn from the experience, apply lesson next time, or not.

RIRview

Strangers who have been there and done that. That's pretty much the theme of every thread here. People asking for--and getting advice.

t3c9

Best way for me to clear a congested head is to take my doctors advice and go cycling. Clears out my head in first few miles.

Nachoman

I pedal through most everything. But I pedal slow and easy.

valygrl

My coach makes me rest until I'm feeling better.

Igualmente

A couple of links from the American College of Sports Medicine and the New York Times that might assist:

https://www.acsm.org/docs/current-co...commoncold.pdf (see second to last section; not sure how old this statement is)

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/he...on/25best.html (which is about 6 years old)