Going to the gym when signed off work?

[hunge]

DH thinks this is hugely unreasonable and is shocked I even suggested it … surely it isn’t?

Depends what you’re signed off for but no, you’ve got to exercise. It’s fine

It depends what you are signed off for. If it’s mental health then I would say it’s fine but if you’re signed off for a bad back then probably not.

Agree it depends what you are signed off for.

Absolutely not! It helps both physical and mental health so part of a cure for many reasons why you would be off sick.

Surely it depends why you’re signed off work? If you’ve got the flu, very definitely unreasonable. But if you’re off for mental health reasons, stress etc, it could be beneficial

Yeah depends why you’re off work really

I’m signed off with a physical injury but people at work don’t know that. It isn’t a secret but the point is they’ve no idea.

But even then, maybe if you went to do a Pilates class or suchlike recommended by a physiotherapist it would actually be treatment.

That should be absolutely not unreasonable in case not clear.

So I don’t think it does depend I mean!

Of course it's ok, I'm off work recovering from major surgery, I will need to get back to exercise before I go back to work, I've been off 6 months already

It is a bad back but the gym is the best place for that!

Swimming is brilliant, heat helps (sauna / steam room) gentle movement and exercises … the absolute worst thing you can ever do with a bad back is not to move.

But if people don’t realise this maybe DH is right?

I can’t see why not? I went when I had depression/anxiety & it helped with recovery.

Absolutely fine

If you've told your work you hurt your back last night, going to the gym today is taking the piss.

If you've broken your leg, going to the gym is stupid

If you've had the cast off and are trying to regain your strength, going to the gym is sensible.

Context is everything.

If your back is bad enough you can’t work then I do see where your husband is coming from.

You don't have to tell people why you're off
You don't have to stay cooped up at home
It's no one else's business, do whatever helps your recovery

Depends on the injury and your job

the more physically demanding your job, the more realistic it is to be able go to the gym before you go back to work

When did you hurt your back? I did mine on Monday morning. No way could I go to the gym yet. Gentle excercise like walking or stretches should be plenty if you're still in the acute phase of the injury.

If you are unable to combine your job with recovery from your illness or injury, or if doing your job would slow down your recovery then it is totally fine to be signed off.

If exercise at the gym will help your recovery and get you back to work sooner then that's fine too.

What wouldn't be fine would be to be totally recovered and capable of returning to work but choosing to live a life of leisure instead whilst still getting paid. But that's not what you're doing.

If work involves sitting for hours in a chair, or lifting etc, it may be incompatible with a bad back whereas appropriate exercise in the gym may be good for it.

But why @Sirzy ?

Anyone with a bad back / slipped disc knows the absolute killer is sitting down, especially for long periods. It puts pressure on the wrong places and not only does it cause me to seize up Tin Man style it also causes sciatica.

Im certainly not going to be running marathons on the treadmill but would like to use the pool.

Depends on what kind of work you do also. If I line managed someone who was signed off with a back injury, I wouldn’t be happy to find out they went to the gym. The work we do isn’t physically demanding though.

I think going to the gym is good for any reason, why not? As long as it doesn’t affect you physically.

Not denying that at all that’s why I said he may have a point.

but I would also hope that reasonable conversation happened with work to make adjustments around returning to work - movement breaks etc if she is at the point of being able to consider exercise then I a lot of jobs some compromise could help