by Ellen Como

Ellen Como is a Santa Clarita Personal Trainer and has been in the fitness industry for over 30 years. She writes a weekly column, published on hometownstation.com and on her personal website, ellencomo.com.

Are you as excited as I am about Fall being here? I love this season where Halloween turns into Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving turns into Christmas.

This is also the start of cold, flu and stress season. And, injuries are a year round challenge. I am always coaching my wellness clients when I am building their fitness training programs about when to workout and when to rest while dealing with colds, flu’s, stressors and injuries.

Working Out While Injured

Lets start with injuries, if you are injured or getting over an injury and you have been under a doctors care please listen to your doctor, they do know best in this situation. Do not think that just because you are feeling better you should jump the gun on your healing . Take the time to heal properly the first time so you do not re injure yourself and have to go heal your injury a second time delaying your goal of getting back on track with your fitness plan.

If you are sore from a workout. Do not take the day off. Go for a walk or take an easy class. This will help your muscles by warming them up and it will ease the soreness.

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If you are dealing with pain which is different then soreness, don’t push through it. Make sure you ice the area and rest the area until it starts to feel better. If it doesn’t improve in 1 or 2 weeks go to the doctor and get checked out to make sure its not worse then you thought. I have had clients workout through broken bones before because they didn’t get the area in pain examined by a doctor. So, there is no reason to become a hero and push yourself through and injury. Be a advocate for your body instead.

Working Out When You Are Sick

If you are sick. Here are some basic guidelines about when to workout and when to rest:

If you have a fever – rest!!! Do not workout!!

If you have a runny nose – You can workout but do it at home! There is nothing worse then working out next to someone at the gym who’s nose is running other then then those who choose to show up at the gym while they are coughing. So if your nose is running and you are coughing. Stay home. But, I encourage you to workout about 75% of your normal exertion and work up a sweat. Then jump into a very warm shower and allow the steam of the heat to surround your body. This will help release the all the phlegm in your body. This is great advice for a stuffy nose as well.

If you have a stomach flu its obvious, do not work out until the flu has left your body for 24 hours. Use the 24 hours to replace the liquids and nutrients your body lost.

If you have allergies, it is fine to workout. It might even help you feel better. Just use your common sense when it comes to a public gym. If you are having an allergy attack. Workout at home. If it is extreme, rest until it subsides.

If you are on medication for an infection, rest for 48 hours then if you feel better workout but only about 50% of your normal exertion. Antibiotics raise your heart rate 20% more then normal. So you will notice you won’t have the strength and stamina to get through your normal workout.

Working Out While Stressed

When you are going through a stressful time one of the best medicines for stress is exercise. So do not find excuses like lack of time to use the best medication possible for stress. If you do not have time to get to the gym, workout at home to a video. There are also many workout channels for free on Youtube. You can even workout to my videos on my new channel on Youtube: Ellen Como.

When you are starting to feel better, come back slowly. Do not beat yourself up for not being able to jump back in to your normal routine. When you are coming back from an illness or injury it feels like you will never be back where you were before the illness or injury occurred. But, I am here to tell you that this is a temporary challenge and you will be back to your regular workouts, it is just going to take some time and patience.

Ellen Como has been in the fitness industry in Santa Clarita for over 30 years.  With her experience working in Gyms and as a personal trainer she has developed fitness training programs and fitness plans for men and woman of all ages.    Her passion is creating overall wellness in all her clients and sharing menopause fitness with women going through all the phases of menopause. Visit her website for latest news, products, and personal training at ellencomo.com.