Why do you get sick after working out?
And should you exercise when you’re run down?
If your exercise efforts are being frustrated by poor immunity, this post is for you.
In 1999, I rode a motorbike across Australia with my then-boyfriend, from Perth to Cairns through the desert on dirt roads.
As a personal trainer, I knew that being in top physical shape would mean a better trip. So I trained hard in the gym for eight weeks, gained about 2kg of muscle and was feeling amazing in the lead up to the trip.
About 9 days before we were due to leave on our 6-week adventure, BAM!
I got the flu. And I mean THE FLU. I was bed-ridden.
We went on the trip anyway, and I was physically pushing myself on the ride every day. I was sick for about 8 weeks – the whole trip, and then some.
Even now, if I step up my exercise, I will get a minor cold or an infection of some sort within a few days, about 70% of the time.
Let’s look at why this happens, how exercise relates to immunity, and how you can lower your risk of getting sick.
Stress and Your Immune System
If you get sick after working out, it basically boils down to the fact that you’ve put too much stress on an already-stressed body, which lowers your immunity.
In other words, exercise itself is not the main problem – pre-existing stress is the REAL problem.
Any of the following stressors can be enough to push your body into a hyper-stressed state (“fight or flight” mode).
- you’re recovering from burnout
- you’ve just been through a major life stress
- you’ve have a busy few weeks at work and running on adrenaline
- it’s an emotional time in your life
- you have a weak digestive system
- you have a sluggish liver
- you’re not sleeping well
- you’re not eating enough vegetables, or regular meals
- you’re on multiple medications
- you’re exposed to environmental or dietary toxins
- you drink alcohol regularly
- you’re constantly on edge, anxious or wired up.
How many of these are relevant for you? Just one is a big enough challenge for your body, and exercise (especially intense exercise) can be the final straw.
Oh, and there’s one more pre-existing stressor – you’re over the age of 35. Read more about that, here.
Your Body Type and Immunity
It’s worth mentioning that certain body types are more prone to immune system issues than others.
Specifically:
- Most ectomorphs, who are generally introverted, easily overwhelmed anxious types
- Mesomorphs who are out of balance, driving themselves too hard and/or partying too hard, or
- Entomorphs who are out of balance because they’re putting everyone first, are anxious due to overthinking things.
In any of these situations, raised stress hormones are a problem.
Do You Get Sick After Working Out? Here’s What You Can Do.
Stress puts your body into ‘fight or flight’ mode, and this increases wear and tear on your body.
That means your best solution is to do things to reduce stress, counteract that wear and tear, and get adequate rest and recovery.
Here are some things you can do.
At times of high stress:
- Back off the intensity, duration and frequency of exercise. Try walking in nature, light weights or gentle yoga instead.
- Prioritise good sleep – a wind-down ritual, right temperature, bed before 10pm.
- Eat regular meals with plenty of green vegetables and herbs, and a little lean protein and healthy fat at EVERY meal.
- Make sure you’re well hydrated all day, every day.
- Switch off devices by sunset. The blue light in those screens pushes up stress hormones.
- Take a high quality vitamin and mineral supplement to counteract the oxidative damage caused by stress. Make sure it contains adequate zinc and vitamin C in highly absorbable forms.
Other things you can do:
- Maintain a constant body temperature. Avoid getting too hot (summer) or too cold (winter).
- Reduce alcohol intake. It’s a metabolic poison that breaks down into a toxin called acetaldehyde.
- Slow down on the stimulants. Coffee and chocolate push up your stress hormones.
- Boost digestion if it’s a problem for you, using probiotics, apple cider vinegar (if tolerated) and digestive enzymes.
If you are sick with a cold or flu, or an inflammatory condition (raised glands, hives etc), it’s also a sign that your body needs a break.
If you want to recover from illness quicker, then it’s best to reduce or stop exercise for a few days. Research indicates that exercising when you’re sick may prolong the duration of illness – and who wants that?
Some slow, pleasurable walking is probably all you need.
What To Do When You’re Less Stressed
Life isn’t always stressful and there are times you’ll feel really good, strong and healthy. You might not get sick after working out EVERY time….just when you’re run down or stressed.
The lesson is that even when things feel good, it’s helpful to keep the stressors at bay with some daily rituals that will prevent you from getting sick. These might be:
- A relaxing wind-down ritual at night
- Eating plenty of vegetables with lean protein
- Using meditation, yoga or journaling to lower stress and anxiety
- Finding time for fun, creativity and flow to boost your resilience
A Final Word
Do you get sick after working out? The simplest and most powerful thing you can do is to listen to your body and pay attention to your needs.
Adjust the amount of rest, sleep and recovery you get each day according to what your body is telling you.
Feeling tension in your muscles? Maybe you need a massage or bath.
Feeling anxious? Take time out to unwind and have fun.
Feeling tired? Take a rest or a walk in the fresh air, and have an early night.
If you keep an eye out for early warning signs of either excess stress or impending illness, you can put your recovery strategy into place as soon as possible and stay healthy and well, no matter what’s going on in your life.
I’d love to know what works for you – let me know in the comments below.
Melanie White
Chief Inspiration Coach
I'm a quirky scientist and a Health and Wellness Coach who helps 35+ women to understand and eat right for their body type.
Great blog! Very helpful – thanks Mel!
Thanks Mel, I’m glad it was useful!
I am a 66 yr old female, retired Sch teacher. So during the summer. I noticed that after I started the Zumba class ( 1 hr) immediately following the Aerobics class ( 1 hr). my body would be so, so tired-.even with proper nutrition, vitamins, water, etc. I started to have cold- sinus symptoms fairly regularly. I had to start attending only 1 of the classes & swim for 30-45 mins afterwards in a heated pool.. All cold symptoms stopped after my classes . I learned that I was pushing myself beyond my physical limits!, weakening my immune system! Problem solved!!!!!!!!!
Hi, it sounds like you got it right – isn’t it amazing how much useful information our bodies can give us if we listen? Best wishes, Melanie
All of the above is me. Has been me for 5 years. I dont work due to chronic exhaustion. So i do yoga, and walk. Only 3 times a week. And rest alot during the day. But i still cant get my body to get strong enough to even do yoga. I still dont get it.
hi Grace, it sounds as if you may have an underlying challenge. Have you been tested for parasites, iron levels, vitamin B status, thyroid, chronic fatigue, or similar? It may be worth visiting a functional medicine practitioner who could do some more thorough investigation and get to the bottom of things for you. I hope you get some answers. Best wishes, Melanie
This was very helpful I get sick way to often after a workout and wasn’t sure why because I’m a healthy eater but threw out my weeks I do lose a lot of sleep some days so I’ll work on that ASAP. Thank you
hi Jeff, please let us know how you go. I’m sure a bit of tweaking around sleep, stress etc will help sort things out. Best of luck to you.
I have been googling this for years and this is one of the first really useful articles I have come across. Thank you so so much! I feel a lightbulb has been turned on! ^_^
hi Jennifer, so glad this was helpful. Enjoy your workouts!
I agree! Trying to figure out why I get sick, almost immediately after starting “another” workout routine is frustrating. I often go into working out, highly motivated and wanting to be healthy, just to find that I get cold like symptoms the next few days, which then motivates me not to workout; which also sucks! I do have too much stress in life, but think that eating healthy and working out will help that, but then I get sick….aaaahhhhhh LOL!
This article has been the most helpful after searching for an answer for too long. Thanks for the well-written BLOG and tips.
Even though your BLOG says you help women, your tips have helped me (male and in America)…and I never reply to BLOG’s!!! Thanks Melanie!
hi James
I’m so glad you felt this was useful and thanks for your comment. I’ve spent many years working out in gyms myself and after YEARS of frustration around this, I figured it out.
Also, you might want to check out intermittent fasting because it supposedly helps your immune system. I might blog about this soon.
Best wishes
Melanie
Hello. I’m in bed with the flu as usual…….please help……I unfortunately suffer from anxiety, so I’m always stressed…….I was advised to do activities that could help lesson this……which for me is jogging or tae-bo……but I worked out yesterday and today I’m bed ridden. So, I’ll rest for about four day’s or more, to get better, then workout again, then I’m sick again the next day. So I’m considering trying a probiotic supplement.
hi Rachel, when you have the flu, it’s best to follow the ‘above the neck’ rule. If your symptoms are all head-based, you’re probably ok to do gentle exercise, but if it’s in your chest, you’d be better to rest. It will simply take you longer to recover if you push too hard.
A probiotic is a wonderful idea to help boost your immunity. Fresh herbs in your cooking also help.
You could probably walk “in nature” (beach, bush, garden, park) as a means of reducing anxiety in the longer term. Walking can be easily promoted to hill walking, stairs, jogging etc to increase the intensity and work if you feel able. More intense sessions would be better saved for days when you feel less anxious and more energized.
Hi melanie, your article was very helpful. Can you please recommend a vitamin like you mentioned in the article for me. I’m 53 and I ride a stationary bike for 1 hour every day. Trying to lose weight, and it is working,
But I can feel that the regular daily vitamin I take isn’t enough, and I guess I need to change to what you recommend. Don’t want to just go to a vitamin store and have them try to sell me everything in the place!
hi Marian, thanks for the feedback. It sounds like the bike riding is working which is great news. Congratulations on sticking with it!
I recommend Usana products which are mentioned in the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements as the top brand in US, Canada and Australia (more info here: https://comparativeguide.com/)
You can find Usana products here: https://healthkick.usana.com/ux/cart/#!/en-AU/category/?shopperSource=PHX-PWP&sponsorId=3018452
Second-rated brands are Douglas Labs Ultra Preventative X https://www.facebook.com/48201070275/photos/pcb.10158527431805276/10158527430375276/?type=3&theater
Third-rated is GNC Ultra Mega Gold.
Sorry to give you a lot of reading! But important that you research and understand what’s out there.
Hope that helps!
Melanie
Very helpful blog, now I know what do´s and dont´s =)
Thanks Javier, stay well!
Hi Melanie,
I always get sick, when i start workout..
hi Lokesh
Hmm, some people get exercise-induced asthma, allergy and other similar things. Have you looked into this at all? If you google it, you might find something that helps you. Best wishes, Melanie
Hello Melanie – Great blog. 55 yo every day exerciser here. Experiencing frequent mild colds (sore throat and congestion) after intense workouts, all of a sudden, during the past year. Here’s the confusing part – I have been working out for 40+ years, always listen to my body, adjust when necessary based on how I feel. No change in this aspect , I continue to feel great in the gym and on the road on those days when I step up the intensity, nice buzz and energy afterwards, but now I am getting mild colds frequently the day after an intense workout, blecch. Stress, sleep , and eating all normal. The only change the past 2 years is more frequent travel, sometimes experiencing big swings in temperature, eg 0 degrees at departure, 35 degrees at arrival.
Any recommendations for specific probiotics as an immunity booster? Want to give that a shot.
Thanks!
hi Michael
Thanks for the post. It sounds like something has shifted in your immunity. Maybe the travel and temperature are factors as you suspect. Healthy gut flora also tend to naturally diminish with age and two other factors that can reduce immunity are alcohol and constipation, so some other things to think about.
In any case, I recommend this product – https://healthkick.usana.com/ux/cart/#!/en-AU/product/108.010102 (which I sell) – or if you prefer, you can find a probiotic that includes Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG and Bifidobacterium BB-12, that will help (multiple types is preferable).
Vitamin C is also worth considering as it is a powerful immune booster. Could be a good ‘travel supplement’.
Good luck and please let me know how you go,
Melanie
Thank you for the article! Been getting sick all the time and can’t figure out why so started pushing harder in workouts making me sick even more. I’m almost 35 and it’s hard to accept I can’t handle the types of high intensity workouts I used to as I have so much other stuff on my plate I never had before. The challenge for me is going to be working out has always been my reset stress reliever. Now I feel it’s my enemy and not sure if I can handle just going moderately and afraid I’ll slip into over doing it again!
hi Jared, I can hear that you really value your workouts and at this time of your life, your workouts and your busy lifestyle are competing with each other. Life transition points are challenging but it’s great that you’re looking to tackle this. I’ll ask you some questions you may like to reflect on, and perhaps your reflections will generate some answers for you.
1. Is there anything in your life that you can delete, delegate or outsource in order to lower demands and stress? Lowering stress seems to be a primary theme.
2. What are the thoughts you’re having that create a feeling of stress, that you could change into something more neutral/factual to lessen the intensity of the feeling?
This can be REALLY powerful to reduce stress. For example, if you are saying to yourself “I’m so stressed”, it will create that feeling in your body. A more neutral/factual thought in this example could be something like “I have responsibilities that I need to plan and manage weekly.” See how the emotion is taken out of it, and how the statement points to an affirmative action rather than a negative feeling?
3. How could you adapt your existing workout to make it easier on your body, while still being fulfilling and acceptable for you?
For example, same intensity but shorter duration, slightly lower intensity and duration, lower number of intense workouts mixed with cross training….? I invite you to brainstorm all options and decide what you could be happy with…knowing that it may be just for now, until stress is better-controlled.
Jared,the answers are there for you to find, and I truly believe you can master this. If you are the kind of guy who loves intense workouts, it says something of your character. It tells me you have the wherewithal to find a way around this. Please keep me posted and let me know what you discover.
Best wishes
Melanie
Omg this is me everytime i get a sore throat or tonselites argh I want to be healthy and really enjoy exercise. Mind you I have had lots of broken sleep lately too. Also under a natropath to get me super healthy. X
Hey Lauren
I bet that naturopath will sort you out with some powerful vitamins and probiotics to pump up your immune system and lower the effects of stress in your body. This should make a big difference! Keep me posted. Best wishes, Melanie
Wow. Thank you so much for this article. I come down with a cold/fly every time I exercise. People think I’m craxy when I say that. So thank you fur validating it!!! I’m a 38 year old single mother of three and I work full time. I drink alcohol and eat acterribke diet. So after reading this, I see there are many things I need to change. I really want to start working out!!!!!
hi Kelly, I’m so glad you figured things out for yourself. It sounds like, if you changed one thing at a time, or everything a little bit at a time, you might find your immunity builds and you will be able to start working out without getting sick. Keep us posted! Best wishes, Melanie
Thank you! This makes total sense now. I had a baby almost 2 years ago and have never lost the weight because I always end up sick after pushing myself trying to exercise. Then I just give up. But 2-3 days of walking a week sounds doable! Do you only recommend protein and vegetables? Just curious about dairy, grains, and fruit.
hi Beth, so glad this is a missing link fixed for you! Starting out with walking sounds great. Protein and vegetables is a good foundation. If your gut is ok, if you have no intolerances and if you don’t have much weight to lose, then it’s ok to include dairy, grains and fruit.
In the Downsize Me program for people who are trying to lose weight, we recommend a max of two fruits per day, and one serve of full cream dairy. Grains are used later in our program, in moderation (e.g. a serve is 1/2 cup per meal) and only from whole sources such as brown rice, black rice, quinoa, whole rolled oats.
Best of luck getting started!
Melanie
Wow, great article. Really glad I found this as it’s helped me out some pieces together. Last year I had dropped a ton of weight, was looking and feeling the best I ever have and then had some major work stress and managed to put 30lbs back in over a year. Going from working out 6-7days a week with some two a days, I started getting more and more illlneses (including strep for 3 months and the flu) and now I get some sort of illness pretty much every time I workout. I know I’m VERY stress sensitive because I involuntarily stop sleeping when I’m stressed, and my day to day work is pretty high stress (FYI I am also diagnosed with PTSD). I’ve definitely been drinking more than normal to help bring down stress levels but clearly that is not the right approach- for my stress or waistline! I’ll look at reducing my alcohol intake, not pushing so hard when I go back and keep working on those stress levels. Thank you so much!
hi Penelope,
WOW, you’ve been through a LOT this past year. I can tell that you see the strong link between weight, sleep, illness and drinking.
I could recommend that looking at your thought processes is a useful way to reduce stress, since stress comes from within. If you watch your thoughts each day and notice where you are amplifying events, taking things too seriously, taking on too much etc, then it may help you to change those unconscious responses into something more helpful. Like talking yourself down from stress, lightening your load, or taking on less.
I wish you the best of luck with this and please reach out if you need help.
Best wishes
Melanie
That is so me! I am not a fit person, and I always want to lose weight. However, whenever I started exercising (very mild walk for 2-3 hours per day) and ate less calories, I caught a cold and had to stop my weight loss plan, and ended up regaining the weight… Thanks for sharing! Could you give us more tips about how to lose weight effectively?
hi Lisa
Thanks for getting in touch. And sure, I’ll give you a few more tips, and we’ll have more posts coming soon that cover specific topics.
Maybe starting with shorter walks, like 30 minutes per day 3 days per week, would get you moving but not put too much stress on your body. Then build up to longer/more frequent as tolerated.
It might help you to take a probiotic daily to help with gut function and therefore boost immunity overall so you have more capacity to exercise.
Most of the results come from eating.
The general guidelines are to get
– lean protein at lunch and dinner – the palm of your hand size is a guide.
– two big handfuls of above ground vegetables at lunch and dinner
– a small handful of starch (sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa etc) at lunch and dinenr
– maximum of two fruits per day (with or between meals)
– breakfast could be 3/4 cup of whole rolled oats, or a couple of eggs with some wholegrain toast, or some yoghurt with berries
If you ate this way, with no snacks between, and no sugary drinks, that would be a good start.
Of course, this is just a general recommendation and you’d need to consider any allergies or specific requirements that you have as advised by your primary care physician.
I hope that helps! Please let us know how you go.