I’ve had a cold – a pretty bad one – for a few days now. However, I’m starting to feel a little better. I actually don’t feel like sleeping all day like I did just a day or two ago. So my energy levels are a little higher now, which is nice.  A lot of people question whether or not they should work out when they’re not feeling well.

It’s actually quite a common question because most people think they might make themselves sicker if they work out.  Especially since we are in the thick of flu and cold season, those who work out often are feeling it since they feel trapped into being a couch potato when they’re not feeling good.

But the answer to the question is very simple. You can certainly try a light workout, but if your body is telling you STOP then you need to stop.  Your body often needs all of its resources to fight a bug such as a flu or cold, and when you work out, you are demanding energy and resources from your body.

This is how you actually burn calories from exercising – you are demanding resources of your body such as increased blood flow, heart rate, and increased oxygen circulation. All of this takes energy, and if your body is telling you no during your attempts at working out while sick, then you simply have to stop and not push boundaries.

When you start to feel better, try doing something really light and therapeutic, like a yoga DVD.  This tends to be more calming and less demanding than a hard cardio and weight workout, but you have to choose an easy one because things like hot yoga or ashtanga can be every bit as demanding nad physical.

One thing I’ve found that helps me recover from a flu or cold quicker believe it or not, is our far infrared sauna.  Because it heats my body, it creates a sort of artificial fever. The reason our bodies get a fever when we’re sick is because this is the body’s attempt at killing off the bacterial or viral infection that is making you sick.

Heat kills many viruses and germs, so getting into the sauna can definitely help you to fight off the bug better. I also increase my intake of vitamin C and other antioxidants simply to make myself feel better and more energized.

Drinking plenty of water – I add lemon juice, freshly squeezed to mine – it also good for recovery as often you feel dehydrated during a cold or flu.  Also, see our past post about coconut water for better hydration – interesting read.

Once you start to gain your energy back, that’s when you can try to work out, but working out when the flu or cold has its hardest grip is probably not a good idea – this is your body’s way of telling you it’s down for the count.

I’ve suffered back pain for the majority of my life, thanks to early back problems starting before I was twenty, to more back and neck pain thanks to two accidents where I got whiplash in my early twenties.  I’m sure that I’m predisposed to back pain anyway, and that is part of the reason that I’ve experienced so much back, shoulder and neck pain.

One factor remains constant though. I have always noticed  dramatic improvement in my back and neck pain when I am working out regularly.  Actually, studies have shown the low impact activity helps to decrease back pain.  This is because when you get up and move around, your muscles have less opportunity to get stiff and cramp up.

When I sit down all day long at my work desk, or if I’ve had a really lazy day at home, I notice that I’m totally stiff and have a hard time getting comfortable. Whereas, if I’ve worked out that day, everything feels looser, and more limber and flexible.

There is also the element of heat. When you exercise, your muscles actually get warm. This makes them more pliable, and certainly may also lend itself to muscle tension relief.  When the muscle fibers are warmer like this, they tend to help us feel more relaxed, and the muscles to let go of that stored up tension.

In addition to actually stimulating the muscles and helping to warm them and prevent stiffness, exercise also produces endorphins. Why would these “feel good” chemicals matter for pain?

Well, endorphins are actually sort of like the “antidote” to pain, so exercising will also help reduce the chemical reactions that cause pain, or offset them by producing their natural antidote, endorphins.

Plus, endorphins just make you feel good all the way around, so they help lift your mood and take your mind off of the pain that might have otherwise been bugging you.

Doing this can help you to avoid other common remedies for back pain and neck pain relief which unfortunately involve dangerous drugs and OTC pain killers.  Many OTC (Over the Counter) pain relief pills actually can harmful effects on the stomach, the lining of the digestive tract, and the liver over time.

Additionally, topical numbing creams absorb into the skin with their active ingredients, which aren’t the healthiest thing either. If you want something totally natural that can help ease the pain, try either using those microwaveable bags that help heat the pain away, or a sauna or hot tub to help penetrate the muscles with soothing heat to loosen the muscles.

It’s so funny because every time I read one of these “top 10″ or “top 5″ lists of ways to either relieve stress, reduce depression or lift mood and reduce anxiety, the one thing that is ALWAYS on the list is EXERCISE.  So, I always beg the question, why isn’t everyone and their brother on the exercise bandwagon?

I mean, why don’t we require that kids go through an appreciation course for exercise and what it does for the human body?  It should be a requirement, instead of all these useless gym classes that don’t really teach kids an appreciation or understanding of how exercise will benefit them throughout life.

Instead, they learn to loathe gym like I did as a child, because you are constantly fearing making an idiot of yourself or being picked last on the team.  It is so ridiculously apparent that the human body and mind is reliant on regular exercise in order to function optimally that it’s almost unthinkable that not a lot of Americans take part in a regular exercise program.

We’ve all become entrenched in such easy, high tech lifestyles, that we don’t get up and out of the house nearly as much as we should, and we don’t naturally get a lot of exercise thanks to cushy office jobs and lifestyle habits.  Since our world is so high tech these days, it has benefitted us in some ways, but in others, it has made us more stagnant, more likely to not move around as much as we should.

This has resulted in skyrocketing reports of anxiety and stress to doctors. We live in high stress times now with the questionable economy and other factors just waiting to eat away at every second we have with worry.  We need exercise now more than ever.

In order to maintain a stress-free (at least relatively) life, you simply have to engage in organized workouts. This is the only way you can really work the stress out. It is amazing how lifted people report feeling after engaging in activities that really help the mind to stay focused and calm.

It may almost seem against intuition that doing something vigorous and “not relaxing” in and of itself could induce such calm, anxiety killing properites. However, it is absolutely true because it lets out bottled up tensions and allows you to wipe your mind clean for those moments you are doing it, allowing for greater clarity and calmness in the aftermath.

I can feel the power of stress busting and exercise even as I sit here and write this. What am I talking about exactly? Well, I just got done with a workout after a stressful first half of the day. I can feel my endorphins going, my blood pressure rate has gone down and even my breathing has slowed from frenzied quickness and hurries rapidity to a nice, slow tempo again.

In short, I’ve experienced the wonderful, healing, calming and stress busting effects of getting up, moving, and sweating. There is something to be said about how exercise makes your brain work. I feel much smarter, more confident and generally more mentally “quick” and capable when I’ve been working out regularly.

Exercise definitely has a calming effect on the brain and other important organs and bodily functions.  It has a definitive physiological effect on the body and mind that is utterly undisputed.

I look to my own experience as proof.  When I think about the periods I go through where I tend to be a vegetable and a couch potato, I also realize that, although parts of that type of lifestyle can be fun at times, I’m also sometimes a mental mess.

Lack of exercise, for me, also correlates to a general apathy toward life.  If I’m not up and moving around, it sort of translates to where I am in life and how I feel about my life – stagnant!

Well, getting away on a relaxing vacation can certainly put a kink in your “on a roll” status with working out. I think that virtually everyone who works out on any type of regular basis has experienced slumps in their routines due to life demands, commitments, getting sick, feeling lazy and a gazillion other excuses.

However, vacations are one of the wores for working out to take a dive for the worse. When people go on vacation, they typically look at it as a vacation away from most of the doldrums of their normal lives. They look at it as a vacation from their commitments. And guess what one of people’s least favorite commitments tends to be?

WORKING OUT.  It is a sort of license to not work out when you go on a vacation – especially if it’s a celebratory one like a honeymoon or a family vacation or some sort, or a wedding getaway. However, as long as the vacation isn’t over a week, it shouldn’t damage your fitness level too much.

Even if you can sneak in long walks on the beach or walks around town and get some sort of cardio in to your days – or even swimming in the ocean or in a pool – which is great cardio and muscle conditioning – you are ok.

Some vacations are really active, while others are slugfests where you laze around in hotel rooms, by the pool, or at the beach drinking mojitoes and not burning a single calorie.  I prefer a mix of both. Since not being active during the day really makes me feel lazy and useless, I don’t like to lay around for too long.

I like to mix it up a bit. Maybe take a hike during the day, then relax at night, or go sightseeing with some comfy running shoes on so that you can really walk without getting a sort back or feet. That way you still get some sort of physical activity in while also enjoying your vacation.

You can also keep your energy levels up since you’re getting exercise, so you can enjoy every moment of your vacation instead of feeling like you want to sleep through it – which is exactly what happens when you eat rich foods and tend to sit around.  Cruises are probably the most notorious for this!

Top 10 Gym Mistakes

They always say that the hardest step toward a new healthy life and exercise program is the first step to begin it in the first place, but sadly this is not the only step. Workouts and gym regimes are challenging to say the least and mistakes in various areas of the gym are hugely common. It is important to ensure that not only are the best efforts being involved, but also an awareness of some of the most common mistakes that could be standing in the way of excellent results:

1 – All or Nothing

Too many people use the excuse of not having a full hour or time to do their routine as reason enough to do nothing. In reality, even a ten minute session can make a huge difference so never adopt the all or nothing stance.

2 – Lack of Balance

Many will always be keen to work on specific muscle groups and areas of the body, perhaps to gain a certain appearance or build strength. This can of course work in the long run, but in order to really build any area, the whole body must first be trained equally.

3 – Poor Form

Gym equipment may look easy to use, but an incorrect stance or seating position has the potential to invalidate the whole exercise. If in doubt, or even if modestly confident, ask for a few tips from the trainer just to make double sure.

4 – Too Much

Working out too hard, too fast or too often can be hugely detrimental and limit results in a big way. Resting in a nice comfy arm chair is an integral element of importance and should never be overlooked.

5 – Variety

It is all too tempting to find a routine that suits and then stick to it without exception. Eventually, all such workouts can lead to boredom, injury or perhaps burnout – so always ensure a sensible amount of variety is thrown in.

6 – Machine Adjustments

Too many people jump on the next piece of equipment in the gym and just go for it straight away because the adjustment appear to be ok for the job. When working out, ok is not enough and it is essential to make all the necessary adjustments with pinpoint accuracy to achieve positive results.

7 – Distractions

It is of course important to enjoy working out and keep entertained, but reading books and watching TV during exercising can lead to distraction from the task at hand and a lesser amount of effort put into the exercise itself – so be careful to strike a balance.

8 – Not Cooling down

The cool down after the workout is incredibly important and must always be addressed before running off into the showers. Just a few minutes to stretch the muscles and lower the heart rate can make all the difference.

9 – Unrealistic Goals

Everybody would like to be able to resemble a Greek God overnight but his will sadly never be possible, therefore set realistic goals from day one and ensure no motivation is lost along the way by expecting too much.

10 – Watching Others

Just because someone has the body that most would die for does not mean that their workout will work for everybody, so never stray from a personal program for thinking another individual’s may be better.

Well, it’s official. My husband and I are much more tolerable people to be around when we work out after we get home from work, rather than laying like slugs in front of the television or our computers til it’s bed time.

It’s tempting to do this when you’re beat from a day at work. The stress and anxiety of the work day can really get you down and sap all of your energy. Many days I don’t get to the gym on my lunch or I get very little exercise during my work day otherwise.

When I come home, I’m even more exhausted from sitting all day, even though that seems counterintuitive.  But what working out after I get home from work, and for my husband too, does for us, is it relaxes us and puts us in a much better mood.

We actually laugh together more, we are more  affectionate with eachother. We kiss and hug more, and we are generally more lighthearted, energetic, and fun people to be around. In short, we really like eachother!

You know how marriage can be. You can sometimes nit pick eachother, or get into little fake fights or bickering sessions all day long. But when you are both working out and getting out all those angsty feelings, that’s when you really get a chance to let it all hang out.

Instead of being agressive with eachother, you are being agressive and working out anger and frustration on a punching bag, a treadmill, an elliptical machine, a recumbent bike, or something of that nature. You literally feel like you have gotten all the anger out of your system.

That leaves a lot more room for a loving, and fun loving relationship. You want to be around eachother because you have the energy to put forth into your relationship. Your husband or your wife no longer seems like just another obligation and another compromise.

I’d suggest you try both you and your spouse or partner working out. I guarantee it will make both of you happier. It will even boost your sex drive and feelings of sexuality and sensuality toward eachother, because it improves your body image as well as improves those feel good hormones (and sex hormones) running through your body.

In short, you really should work out in tandem with your significant other. You’d be amazed at how much better your relationship is!

One of the rules that I’ve always followed, unless I really do have a lot of pent up energy and need to work out to get that energy out, is to not work out at least two to three hours before bed time. For me, I follow this rule because exercising gets my endorphins going, and my adrenaline usually stays higher for a few hours after I work out.

If I work out a couple hours before bed, I’m likely going to still be in this “jazzed” state before I hit the hay, and I’ll probably lay there forever before I can actually get relaxed enough to sleep.

Another good reason is that your body really needs to start producing melatonin, and dimming the lights and winding down before bed is better for your chances at a good nights sleep when you follow this type of procedure.

Some people might be different though. There are some people who could probably fall asleep at the drop of a hat, no matter what they had down a few hours before bed time, and those people are probably the exception to the rule.

While it is true that working out on a regular basis makes for a better sleeping habit in general, and deeper sleep, this is only true for those that work out in mid day or morning, not those that work out too late in the evening.

I’ve noticed that if I work out too close to bed time, it sort of fools my body into thinking that there should still be more time at the end of the day, and that I’m cutting my day short.  Now, if you are going to either be a couch potato, or get your workout in at the end of your day, then obviously, the smarter choice is to get that workout IN!

Working out is always better than not working out, no matter what time of day you are committing yourself to.  There are some who really can’t work out any other time, such as people that work later shifts or have little children that need their attention until they go to bed.

Those people may be better off just getting that workout in the evening, instead of leading a more sedentary lifestyle, which would be the alternative if they couldn’t get the exercise in.