How To Scale Down Training When You're Sick

Shit happens.
So does flu, cold, or any other type of disease.

The most common and deadly of them is called LIFE... 😜

Yet, it's rarely a reason to stop training. 

The question is HOW to train in order to progress and go THROUGH it, rather than falling INTO it.

Side note: Please, please and PLEASE - use common scene and don't be a hero, when it concerns your own health! 

There were times when I trained with relatively high fever, while on other occasions I took a step back - with minor one;

After all, heroes live in cemeteries, you know...

Back to our subject,

A basic principle that needs to remember is that body fights whatever is inside (fever is an outcome), so it's ENOUGH STRESSED already.

Meaning, that going for that 5x5 90% or sprinting is rather dumb.

However, light "pump" in a gym and/or aerobics are, often an amazing buffer!

For example, I like to swim and do some lightweight training for one thing only - HAPPY HORMONES! Namely, serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins.

Feeling the blood flow, elevating your HR makes you FEEL GOOD!

Provided that you go and eat quality carbs, clean protein, and lots of veggies - guess what?

Yes, it goes quicker and lighter. 

Case study:

On Monday (my first practicing day) I felt like shit! 

Really bad, gooey type of shit.

Like cold shivers and stuff. 

I didn't care if I had a fever or not (which I haven't) - I felt like SHIT!

The worst kind.

With this being said, it's not a reason to miss a practice.

I opened my program and saw... Snatch INTERVALS.

"That's it, I'm fucked!" - was my thought. 

I could have managed it. But stressing my heart and lungs would have probably gotten things worth.

So I texted my coach - asking him for advice: either go with a lighter bell or slower pace.

He listened and tweaked the practice -

My HR during the whole practice didn't go above 126 b/m.

Me being almost 44, it's about 70% from max!

It's "nothing" in comparison with my usual working HR, where I go 85% and above.

This brings us to the main point of scaling down - the HR (Heart Rate) is the ONLY variable that MATTERS.

Stress levels are dictated by HR - fight or flight response, being the basic survival instinct, where NS flashes muscles with blood, upbeat the HR so you ready to stay in gene pool one way or another,

Hence, WHEN and IF you decide to go "move some blood around" when you feel sick - 

It's not how you feel, it's how fast your heart goes!

Needless to say, I "flew" - not confused with flu 😁 - through the practice and even did GPP, when originally I didn't plan to.

Wanna guess how I felt the day after?

No, it's not Hollywood, it's life - I felt STEADY!

The best word to describe my feeling and perception of my body.

No flu symptoms. No fever. No shiverings. No weaknesses, 

Nothing but a steady-state. And - 

An amazing feeling of calm and... health within me.

Tomorrow is the next session...

Final thoughts:

I've been practicing the mind-over-matter approach for many years now.

My body is adopted to train in and during light sicknesses, however, my body (and post-Soviet mind) is not yours!

I can't tell you whether you should do it or not.

Yet, I can, and am telling you this - keep your HR below 70% if you do!

Go not for the "pump", but for the movement.

Feel not the "burn", but the fun.

Aim not for RM, but the smile.

Stay healthy, consistent, and self-aware.

Coach Michael