Tips For Getting Back Into Your Workout After Being Sick

The flu can keep you away from your workout routine for weeks. You're likely eager to get back into it, but there are some good reasons why you shouldn't jump back into your routine full-force as soon as you're feeling better. While exercise is generally good for the immune system, intense workouts actually suppress it. Your post-sickness body is fighting to regain strength and immunological regularity; pushing yourself hard right away can actually prolong your recovery.

It is wise to wait three or four days after you're feeling better to start working out again; anything beyond a walk may be too much to handle during this time. Waiting a few days will give your immune system time to rest and recover.

Now you're feeling better and a few buffer days have gone by. Whether you're returning to the gym or resuming a home fitness regimen, weight training or cardio training, it's important to keep in mind that you've been out of the game for a while. Even a week off from exercising can cause muscle loss and aerobic fitness decline. A paper entitled "The Management of Low Back Pain: A Comprehensive Rehabilitation Program," by Joel Press, MD, and Susan and Brad Sorosky, MDs, reports that muscle strength decreases by 1-3% each day of bed rest and that aerobic fitness level declines by 25% over a 3-week period of bed rest. This paper can be found in PDF format online.

Your eagerness to get back to where you were pre-sickness should be tempered by the understanding that this goal will take longer to achieve if you push yourself too hard at first. You risk injury or severe delayed onset muscle soreness if you overtax your weakened muscles the first day back, both of which would put you off your routine for days or possibly, in case of injury, weeks to come. Pushing to hard could also weaken your freshly-reconstituted immune system and increase your chance of getting sick again (remember, there are hundreds of different viruses that cause colds and flues).

How much is too much? A good rule of thumb is to halve your normal routine in every way for the first week or two. Exercise half as frequently, half as intensely and half as long as usual. You're reintroducing your body to the rigors of exercise, and this is best done slowly. Increase the length, frequency and intensity of workouts gradually. Take the following scenario as an example. Your usual routine involves 4 to 5 days a week of half-hour sessions. You normally do 15 minutes of moderate- to high-intensity cardio (such as running or jogging) and 15 minutes of strength building (weight reps, core exercises etc.). After being sick, try two 15-minute sessions the first week back, doing 7.5 minutes of low- to moderate-intensity cardio (like brisk walking) and 7.5 minutes of strength training with half your usual number of reps per exercise. If at any point you feel overly exhausted, short of breath or dizzy, stop and rest a few more days.

You'll get back to where you were before being sick if you approach your return to exercise cautiously. Give your body the rest it needs before exerting yourself after having the flu and reintroduce your body to exercise slowly.


Education in back pain is the cheapest form of self-preservation. Learn about what causes back pain and 4 things that cause sciatic nerve pain.

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