Fitness: Dealing with Illness...

So, I've come to develop a little technique over the last couple of years. I don't really have a name for it, but I'm sure it will be in fitness books in 50 years.

Let me explain. Everyone gets sick every once in a while, even if you get all your vitamins and eat the right foods and exercise regularly--it just happens. And, as far as fitness goes, it's a total bummer. It can really mess up your progress, particularly if you are sick for more than a couple of days. Sometimes, if you just have the sniffles, you can still pump some iron or go for a light job, although your results tend to be a little sub-par. But if you get smacked with something a little more potent, there is often no way you can avoid simply lying around in bed.

There is, however, usually a kind of buffer zone between healthy and sick. There is a moment when you can say with near certainty that you WILL get sick. It is not a question of IF, but WHEN. This is where my technique comes into play. When you feel that soreness at the back of your throat, and your body begins to feel tired, head to your gym or workout area of choice, and give yourself a final workout! It's not that doing so will have some sort of supernatural effect on your ability to recuperate, it simply ensures that you get one last workout in before you are confined to your bed.

I actually did this yesterday. It was our anniversary, and we were heading out to the Cheesecake Factory (should I even MENTION that place on a fitness blog???). Toward the end of the workday, I could feel the sickness coming. At this point, I had a choice: I could squeeze in a workout before heading out for dinner, or I could wait until afterward. With impending illness, I decided to suck it up and do my scheduled workout for the day: Plyometrics. Ugh. It was tough, but I was SO glad I did it. At dinner later on, I had no appetite--kind of lucky, because it spared the thousands of calories you can easily amass at that restaurant--and there was no way I would have been able to do my workout later that night (let alone walk across the room).

I'm doing a bit better today, but I may end up having to skip my workout altogether.

Thanks to my buzzer-beating workout yesterday, however, I don't think my loss will be as terrible as it could have been.

Moral of the story: Don't get sick.

But if you do...

Deal with it.