How am I meant to exercise if I’m ill all the time?

[Bunnyhair]

At the start of the school summer holidays I booked a bunch of exercise classes at my gym, full of enthusiasm about finally getting some proper exercise.

No sooner had I done this than caught a cold that became a chest infection. Coughed so hard that I got costocondritis- felt like I’d broken a rib. Took weeks to resolve.

Was all ready to hit the gym again and got Covid which knocked me out for the better part of 2 weeks. Just as I’m recovering from Covid school starts again and now we’re all non-stop sick with colds and bugs, and if past experience is anything to go by it will stay like this, with everyone in the household lurching between viruses, until about May.

I have managed to go to the gym / go for a run a grand total of 4 times since July. Every time I pick myself up and try again I’m stricken with another cold or respiratory bug that saps all my energy.

My whole body feels so weak and feeble. I just don’t know how I am going to manage to keep up any basic level of fitness. How do other people do it, with kids who bring home endless fucking school germs all the time? I’m just constantly ill and exhausted.

Same issue here. I have a gym membership and between working and constantly being sick (or the kids being sick) am finding it impossible to do anything.

You do seem to be picking up a lot of bugs. I'd check that your immune system is in good shape - for example, its very common to be low on vitamin D, and that can prevent your immune system working properly.

Are you me? I have lupus and fibromyalgia and it's a constant issue about 9 months of the year. I'm ill again now and think it's Covid.

I’ve been like this since August. A nasty UTI and then covid has knocked me out of the exercise game for about 5 weeks now and I feel so unfit and achy. Hoping to at least get back to yoga this week and hoping another bug doesn’t get me! Frustrating.

Maybe you need to exercise less/eat more? If you are putting too much strain on your body then it will make you more susceptible to illness.

I don’t feel like I’m ill all that much more often than other parents of primary aged children - though I have had especially shitty luck this summer.

But now school’s back in & winter coming up, I just can’t see how I’m going to get a decent enough run of non-illness to be able to build up any strength through exercise. I just keep getting put back to square one every couple of weeks with these stupid bugs.

I found exercising with a cold made me feel better, however not possible if you have a full blown infection with fever etc.

I’m never sure what other people mean when they say they have a cold, but colds for me involve a completely blocked nose and sinuses, and lots of wheezing / shortness of breath. I couldn’t exercise with a cold as I wouldn’t be able to get ebough air in my lungs. Colds always last 1-2 weeks for me and almost always progress to chest or sinus infection.

Sterimar nasal spray can help unblock the nose. Just saline but I find it very helpful at night. Also may have an anti cold effect.

Stomach bugs and chest infections I won't exercise through. Colds I do. If I'm short of breath I just try to take it a bit more easy, or have more breaks. I always think a half arsed workout is better than no workout. It usually helps me feel a bit better, I'm rubbish at being ill!

Olbas oil helps with breathing for me?

I tend to stick to strength training when I have any respiratory symptoms, both strength and cardio when well, usually workout 3/4 times per week.

I have two children (nursery and school age) plus I'm a nurse so lots of run ins with various viruses!

Occasionally I have to stop training alltogether for a week or so, but it's very rare.

I just do what I can (chronic health conditions)
Tore my calf 4 weeks ago which has been a pain but started back on the spin bike today

If I feel shit then sometimes I'll just sit and spin my legs out for 30 mins with barely any resistance just to do something

Do you walk much? Walking, 8 hours of sleep, and a whole foods diet would be a good start. nail those then add in 'exercise'

Do you have your own spin bike? I wonder whether giving up on the gym and investing in some home gym equipment might allow me to be more opportunistic with exercise (and avoid another germy environment)

I used to walk a couple of miles a day getting to work & school & into town - very briskly, because I was always running late 🤣 But then we moved, and I’m dependent on the car a lot. It makes me feel very stir crazy, like I can feel all my muscles wasting away. I never thought of all that walking as very much exercise at all but I feel the lack of it now.

Also, a torn calf muscle sounds painful! I hope you feel better soon. And well done for spinning in spite of chronic health conditions. I’d love to know how you stay motivated & avoid sliding into hopelessness which is where I am at the moment. 😩

I think I'd focus on your health and immune system first.
Everything seems to hit you hard, progress to something quite serious, and then not give you much of a break before being hit with another bug. It's honestly not normal - and I say that as someone who works in a school, and has 2 kids in school.

@DoublePeonies it feels in some ways validating to hear that this might not be normal - but I also don’t want to hear it!! I want to be back at Bodypump, not fannying about with echinacea and taking it easy 😭

Vit D and B12 levels are all ‘replete’ (I went hard at supplementation last year when I was fed up of always being ill and tired), and my ferritin is finally over 50, and I take Bimuno probiotics for immune function, so I feel like I’m doing the right things nutritionally. I do wonder if the issue is more structural - like I need someone to ream out my sinuses with a power drill so things drain properly and I don’t keep getting infections.

I gave up on a gym membership and got myself some exercise equipment for home. Much easier to motivate yourself do just 15 minutes if your feeling a bit crap but usually end up doing much longer once I get going.

in your position I would find a way to work out from home and just start with 10 or 15 minutes every day.

try and get outside and walk too, I get far less illnesses since getting a dog and have to be put in all weathers every day.

OP because of this crappy summer the advice is to supplement with vitamin D throughout winter until next April.

Also are your sinuses only blocked when you have a cold or are they blocked at other times?

If the latter and you don't have any allergies then:

1. Make a diary of when it happens and any possible triggers.
2. When you have a month of entries go and see your GP.

@Reugny thanks. I use a daily Vit D spray so me levels are at the top of the range throughout the year. Sinuses are fine when I’m not ill, and I have no allergies, but any time I catch a cold the whole inside of my head bungs up and stays that way for weeks on end & then often progresses to bronchitis or pneumonia which eventually needs abx. I can’t get my GP to refer me to ENT, but I wonder if it may be worth going private.

@Bunnyhair yes - I bought a peloton. It was an investment but with that and some adjustable weights I can do all my stuff at home

I use the peloton app only and do spin, weights, barre and yoga

It's the most consistent I've been with exercise, you do still need motivation but I enjoy it