Some useful Information on training with a cold
Gav888
Posts: 946
If your like me and you get no end of colds this might make you feel better about training with a cold. Its a good article and provides some useful information.
You are sneezing, spluttering and have trouble breathing through your nose. Surely, your workouts should be put on hold until you feel better? Not according to American researchers who have been studying the results of exercising with a cold. Professor Leonard Kaminsky, an exercise scientist at Ball State University in Indiana, found that colds have little effect on athletic performance and that exercise doesn't aggravate symptoms such as blocked nose and streaming eyes.A little sweating when you have a cold may even boost the activity of white blood cells that fight infection, Kaminsky says. “A lot of people in our trials said that they felt OK exercising,” he says. “In some cases, they even felt better.”
Kaminsky and his team studied a group of men and women who agreed to be infected with the rhinovirus responsible for most colds. Two days after being infected, when the colds were at their heaviest, the subjects were asked to run on a treadmill while physiological tests were carried out. Like the healthy control group, cold-sufferers experienced no drop in lung function or capacity.
“I was surprised that their performance was not affected, even though they said that they felt more tired than usual,” Kaminsky says. He urges people with light colds to keep active, although those with more severe, feverish symptoms should listen to their bodies and proceed with caution.
What do British experts think of his controversial advice? “It's a bit of a misnomer that you should take to your bed when you have a cold. For most people, working out is fine,” says Louise Sutton, head of the Carnegie Centre for Sports Performance and Wellbeing at Leeds Metropolitan University. “My suggestion would be to apply the “below the neck” rule. If you have fever, sore muscles or joints, vomiting or a very productive cough - symptoms that exhibit themselves from the neck down - then you probably need to avoid exercise for at least a couple of days. If you just have a runny or blocked nose, watery eyes and a light, tickly cough then go ahead.”
Indeed, keep moving and you might avoid the next cold altogether. Three years ago researchers found that women who exercised regularly - doing at least 45 minute of moderate activity on five days a week throughout a year-long study - were three times less likely to suffer a bout of the sniffles than their couch-potato counterparts. It seemed that activity strengthened the effect of immune cells that protect against viruses and bacteria that can cause infection.
However, while exercise does seem to boost immunity, it does so only to a point. Serious athletes or anyone in training for the London Marathon or another endurance event may find their defences are compromised as a result of longer or more intense workouts.
Dr David Nieman, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University, North Carolina, has carried out research into the effects of strenuous workouts or prolonged periods of heavy training. “If you are running or exercising continuously for 90 minutes or longer, there is a temporary downturn in immunity,” he says. “At that point, carbohydrate stores drop causing a spike in the hormones cortisol and epinephrine that inhibit the protective effects of neutrophils and lymphocytes leaving you vulnerable to bugs.”
Other studies at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, have shown that there is a “window” of impaired immunity for the highly active. Marathon runners, for example, are more at risk of catching colds during the 72 hours after they finish the race.
Boost your defences
1. A paper published in the US in 2007 showed that while vitamin C intake had little effect on most people, it halved the risk of getting colds for marathon runners, skiers and other endurance athletes. Vitamin C does not cure colds.
2. Taking a carbohydrate-rich isotonic drink can slow the rise in stress hormones and offset negative immune responses, Dr David Nieman found. He recommends drinking 400ml of a sports drink 30 min before a workout that exceeds 90 min, 400ml of the drink during every 30 min of activity and 400ml afterwards.
3. Athletes who took 1,000mg of quercetin, an antioxidant found in black tea and berries, for three weeks before a three-day period of intense exercise were found to have fewer upper-respiratory tract infections in the two weeks after the activity.
4. A study published in the New Scientist showed that people who drank 14 glasses of red wine a week (but not spirits or beer) halved their risk of getting a cold.
You are sneezing, spluttering and have trouble breathing through your nose. Surely, your workouts should be put on hold until you feel better? Not according to American researchers who have been studying the results of exercising with a cold. Professor Leonard Kaminsky, an exercise scientist at Ball State University in Indiana, found that colds have little effect on athletic performance and that exercise doesn't aggravate symptoms such as blocked nose and streaming eyes.A little sweating when you have a cold may even boost the activity of white blood cells that fight infection, Kaminsky says. “A lot of people in our trials said that they felt OK exercising,” he says. “In some cases, they even felt better.”
Kaminsky and his team studied a group of men and women who agreed to be infected with the rhinovirus responsible for most colds. Two days after being infected, when the colds were at their heaviest, the subjects were asked to run on a treadmill while physiological tests were carried out. Like the healthy control group, cold-sufferers experienced no drop in lung function or capacity.
“I was surprised that their performance was not affected, even though they said that they felt more tired than usual,” Kaminsky says. He urges people with light colds to keep active, although those with more severe, feverish symptoms should listen to their bodies and proceed with caution.
What do British experts think of his controversial advice? “It's a bit of a misnomer that you should take to your bed when you have a cold. For most people, working out is fine,” says Louise Sutton, head of the Carnegie Centre for Sports Performance and Wellbeing at Leeds Metropolitan University. “My suggestion would be to apply the “below the neck” rule. If you have fever, sore muscles or joints, vomiting or a very productive cough - symptoms that exhibit themselves from the neck down - then you probably need to avoid exercise for at least a couple of days. If you just have a runny or blocked nose, watery eyes and a light, tickly cough then go ahead.”
Indeed, keep moving and you might avoid the next cold altogether. Three years ago researchers found that women who exercised regularly - doing at least 45 minute of moderate activity on five days a week throughout a year-long study - were three times less likely to suffer a bout of the sniffles than their couch-potato counterparts. It seemed that activity strengthened the effect of immune cells that protect against viruses and bacteria that can cause infection.
However, while exercise does seem to boost immunity, it does so only to a point. Serious athletes or anyone in training for the London Marathon or another endurance event may find their defences are compromised as a result of longer or more intense workouts.
Dr David Nieman, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University, North Carolina, has carried out research into the effects of strenuous workouts or prolonged periods of heavy training. “If you are running or exercising continuously for 90 minutes or longer, there is a temporary downturn in immunity,” he says. “At that point, carbohydrate stores drop causing a spike in the hormones cortisol and epinephrine that inhibit the protective effects of neutrophils and lymphocytes leaving you vulnerable to bugs.”
Other studies at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, have shown that there is a “window” of impaired immunity for the highly active. Marathon runners, for example, are more at risk of catching colds during the 72 hours after they finish the race.
Boost your defences
1. A paper published in the US in 2007 showed that while vitamin C intake had little effect on most people, it halved the risk of getting colds for marathon runners, skiers and other endurance athletes. Vitamin C does not cure colds.
2. Taking a carbohydrate-rich isotonic drink can slow the rise in stress hormones and offset negative immune responses, Dr David Nieman found. He recommends drinking 400ml of a sports drink 30 min before a workout that exceeds 90 min, 400ml of the drink during every 30 min of activity and 400ml afterwards.
3. Athletes who took 1,000mg of quercetin, an antioxidant found in black tea and berries, for three weeks before a three-day period of intense exercise were found to have fewer upper-respiratory tract infections in the two weeks after the activity.
4. A study published in the New Scientist showed that people who drank 14 glasses of red wine a week (but not spirits or beer) halved their risk of getting a cold.
Cycling never gets any easier, you just go faster - Greg LeMond
0
Comments
-
I have to say that i find i nearly always feel better if i go out on a run,weather it's a cold or a hangover,speaking of which, as for the amount of wine maybe they just don't care or notice,oh hang on,spread over the week that means,not in one night i assume.0
-
Here is some more info:
1. Cold viruses don't make us feel ill
“It’s your own immune response that makes you feel ill,” says Professor Ron Eccles of the Common Cold Centre in Cardiff, where experts have researched the common cold for 20 years. When you get a cold, the virus attacks the nose and the back of the throat, and it doesn’t take long for the body’s natural defences to work.
“The immune system detects the virus and floods the area with white blood cells and chemical messengers, and these trigger various symptoms such as headaches and blocked nose.”
2. A blocked nose is due to swollen erectile tissue
“During a cold, the lining of your nose is the battlefront,” says Professor Eccles. When your nose feels blocked it’s not because it’s full of mucus, but because the veins in your nose are inflamed.
The nasal lining is made from erectile tissue (similar to the tissue in the sexual organs). When you have a cold, the blood vessels swell up as infection-fighting white blood cells flood to the area. This narrows the air passage in your nose and restricts the airflow as you breathe.
A decongestant spray can reduce the swelling and allow you to breathe more easily.
3. You can catch a cold through your eyes
When an infected person coughs or sneezes, they release droplets of mucus into the air, or into their hand if they use their hand to cover their mouth. If you get these droplets on your hand (for example, by shaking hands or touching contaminated objects such as doorknobs), you can pass them into your eyes or nose when you touch them.
Most of us touch our eyes and nose more often than we realise. A duct links the eyes and the nasal cavity, and the virus travels easily from the eye to the nose and throat, where it can cause infection. You can help avoid being infected by washing your hands thoroughly.
4. Women get more colds than men
“Women have more colds than men, and this is probably due to increased interaction with children,” says Professor Eccles. Children get an average of seven to 10 colds a year, compared with two to three for adults. So people who spend a lot of time with children, such as childminders, nursery teachers or school teachers, are more likely to pick up the viruses.
5. Yellow mucus is caused by white blood cells
When your immune system is fighting a cold virus, one of the first symptoms is clear, runny mucus from the nose. As the cold develops, mucus usually becomes thicker and yellow, then green. White blood cells cause this change in colour and texture as they flood to the nasal area and increase in number as the cold progresses.
"Many people think that yellow or green mucus is caused by bacteria, but this isn't the case," says Professor Eccles. "It's because there are billions of white blood cells in the mucus."Cycling never gets any easier, you just go faster - Greg LeMond0 -
Since I stopped eating dairy, I never get colds.
And also, last time I did have one (couple of years ago), I continued to train and it developed into a chest infection which had me on anti-biotics and out of action for 2 weeks.
Everyone reacts differently, so you can't just go by one "study".0 -
A head cold wouldn't put me off but all the snot down the front of the Jersey might not appeal... !
1967 Engine0 -
Hard exercise puts significant stress on the body, taking much-needed resources away from the immune system. My wife, who trained as a nurse, is adamant that training with a cold will at least prolong the symptoms or worse, turn it into something more serious. Being active can help the immune system, but that's preventative exercise, which is not the same as working out while suffering with a cold.smithy1.0 wrote:last time I did have one (couple of years ago), I continued to train and it developed into a chest infection which had me on anti-biotics and out of action for 2 weeks.
The best way to recover is to rest, drink water, eat easily digestible stuff like soup and rest some more. This might be overkill for a touch of the sniffles, but staying off work and putting your feet up when you're feeling genuinely ill is a sensible idea. By going to work you spread infection, be less effective at your job and slow your recovery. IOW going to work provides 3 ways to make you feel more sh*t than you would do otherwise
I doubt drinking red wine is going to make a big (positive) difference. Alcohol is a toxin and unlikely to help ward off colds. If there was a magic bullet for the common cold everyone would have found it by now and cold treatment companies would see their share prices plummet. LemSip® (merely overpriced lemon and paracetamol) etc are packaged products that only alleviate symptoms. They prolong the ailment's effects, as the symptoms you feel are the body's way of fighting the virus. By drying up your nose with a chemical you stop the mucus clearing your system of the little b*stards that are making you ill.
There are a number of herbal or 'natural' products that make claims to aid you in your fight but I'd take these (the claims) with a large pinch of salt too. The same goes for vitamin, mineral or other supplements as remedies. In fact, a lot of the stuff on sale at Holland & Barrett and so on is snake oil, cough mixture being a prime example.
Gav888, if you "get no end of colds" you should try looking at all possible contributory factors: lack of poor quality sleep; stress; diet (quality, quantity, eating patterns); working or sleeping conditions, particularly air quality and temperature.Aspire not to have more, but to be more.0 -
On being told of the above post the eminent Mrs E reminded me of her friend's Dad. He was very fit, exercised every day - that is, until the day he died of a heart attack getting out of the pool. He had continued to swim through a cold and it caused damage to his ticker which resulted in a fatal heart attack.
I found a reference to a number of elite orienteers whose deaths were attributed to heart damage resulting from training through a simple viral infection. I think this abstract may be what the writer was referring to. More comment here, a useful article by cycling coach Ric Stern, but too many google matches to sift through!
If you follow pro racing you'll have read that a large number of riders across different teams have recently suffered or are currently laid low with various illnesses - EBH and Wiggins have had the sh*ts, Pozzato has 'stomach flu'. Not too suprising when they've been in hot conditions (Qatar, Oman) then flying back to N. Euro cold & wet. At least two flights breathing that notorious atmosphere, for one. Then think of all the cow crap and goodness-knows-what they are sprayed with and swallow or breathe when training and racing in the wet. Add to that the temperature changes and lowered immune system from racing and there's a wide open door for every virus around.Aspire not to have more, but to be more.0 -
is not true...Gav888 wrote:4. Women get more colds than men
“Women have more colds than men, and this is probably due to increased interaction with children,” says Professor Eccles. Children get an average of seven to 10 colds a year, compared with two to three for adults. So people who spend a lot of time with children, such as childminders, nursery teachers or school teachers, are more likely to pick up the viruses.
it happens, because women rub their eyes in the morning cos they no balls to scratch3. You can catch a cold through your eyes
When an infected person coughs or sneezes, they release droplets of mucus into the air, or into their hand if they use their hand to cover their mouth. If you get these droplets on your hand (for example, by shaking hands or touching contaminated objects such as doorknobs), you can pass them into your eyes or nose when you touch them.
Most of us touch our eyes and nose more often than we realise. A duct links the eyes and the nasal cavity, and the virus travels easily from the eye to the nose and throat, where it can cause infection. You can help avoid being infected by washing your hands thoroughly.0 -
Interesting article you've posted. Personally I wouldn't exercise hard when suffering from a cold - for one I usually feel quite rough, and secondly I got a heart sac infection from exercising when ill which scared the sh*t out of me so now I'm very careful.
A good walk and plenty of fluids is nice, perhaps a gentle jog once situation has stabilised but not more and certainly no hard winter riding, freezing my sinuses and getting 3 months sinusitis
Listen to your body is a well worn but good suggestion.0 -
General rule of thumb.
Above the neck, fine to train, below the neck, don't bother.
You can get SERIOUS complications if you train with a virus affecting your chest.0 -
Gav888 wrote:A decongestant spray can reduce the swelling and allow you to breathe more easily.
and also can cause you more issues. One of the contributing factors to me having to end up with sinus surgery last year; my ENT surgeon said that they should be banned, as actually they can also damage and you can easily get over reliant on them.0 -
No mention of zinc? I've read lots of "proper" medical articles recently extolling the benefits of zinc against colds - better, it seems, than Vit C.
I rarely get colds - dunno why though.ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH0 -
I think it's very individual. Most people have a decent instinctive idea of if they are well enought to train (that's not to say they follow these instincts.) With 2 very young children in the house, if I stayed off the bike whenever I had a sniffle, I'd never be on the bike. However, if the symptoms are more serious (very green snot, green phlegm) then I stay off the bike and commit myself 100% to getting well as quickly as possible. I've tried to train through a heavy cold before and it led to a nasty chest infection which needed a visit to A&E in the end.0
-
Zinc supplement has made a big difference to me: I ran out just before the summer hols and didn't buy more. Guess who got a stinking cold 2 weeks ago... first one for a yearmeanredspider wrote:No mention of zinc? I've read lots of "proper" medical articles recently extolling the benefits of zinc against colds - better, it seems, than Vit C.
I rarely get colds - dunno why though.
My hubby rarely gets colds but I used to have 8-12 a year!
Read on BBC today that too much supplemental vitamins and minerals can do more harm than good. That remains to be seen but I'll continue my mix of B C & D Vitamins, Calcium, Zinc and Omega 3 because I feel healthier taking them and don't believe the food I eat (constantly trying to lose weight) supplies enough on a regular basis.
Also It's my understanding that many RDAs are based on research done to avoid populations dying of malnutrition not having optimum health - which is obviously a big difference.0 -
Got cold recently, I believe pushed to hard, 40 miles in hard wind and rain, then 60 miles next day, and then 20 miles walking over one day, not taking any supplements and sports drinks. Now recovering.
btw, how long is aprox recovery period?______________________
Canyon Nerve XC 8
Spec. Allez 16 2010
Merida TFS7000 -
Training with a minor cold at the moment (lots of snot and feeling run down). I'm not able to produce the same effort for the usual suffering so I do wonder if there's any point training unless you're fully fit.0
-
i guess it depends on what you mean by a "cold"
a few sniffles but otherwise feel fine... thats not a cold is it? maybe a mild allergy.
Slight fever, raised HR, sore throat, streaming nose... lasts no more than 48hrs.....thats traditional cold - why would you want to train... blowing infectous snot all over your club mates :oops:
Having said that......Once did the Maratona suffering exactly that and i seriously thought i was going to pass out in the finishing hall..... took about 4 weeks before i felt anything like well again, stupid.0 -
there are loads of different ideas but don't
if its only a 48hr thing, give yourself 2 days off the saddle
your performance will pick up because of your rested legs
if its any worse still don't, you might damage yourself permanently
but if you do keep it low level and indoors on the turbo...........0 -
All that to give someone an excuse to go and train with a cold...0
-
Could you provide a link to the official article please I wish to print it off as some people are interested In this.0
-
Exercising hard during a systemic viral infection (i.e. when you feel feverish, rather than just having some sniffles) isn't sensible as it isn't unusual for the heart to be inflamed (myocarditis), which makes it more sensitive to the arrhythmogenic (abnormal rhythm producing) effects of adrenaline (which your body produces when you're exercising hard). Unusually, this can result in you falling off your perch - and I don't mean your saddle. If you feel ill during a cold or flu, don't exercise hard. It's potentially dangerous.0
