T Nation

I'm Sick! Help!!

Bodybuilding
#1

I’ve been sick for 3 days and it’s getting slightly better but I tried to lift today and it really was no go. My conditioning went to SHIT. And I just really started to step it up at wrestling practice too :frowning:

My plan for the day was:

c&j- 10x3: (w/ 205)
Front Squat- 5x10: (w/ 185)
power curls- 5,8,5 (185, 185, 205)
super side bends 3x5 (5lbs)
w. situps 5x10 (15lbs behind head)

What I did:

c&j- 5x3: (w/ 135)
Front Squat- 1x10 : (w/ 135)
super side bends- 3x5: (w/ bar)

And I was WASTED… THE FUCK.

1- How do I heal up faster while sick

2- How do I maintain my strength

3- How do I maintain my muscle mass (what little of it there is)

4- When I’m back at 100% are my lifts going to be lower than they were prior to being sick?

5- Should I lift at all right now or just chill out and heal up? I feel like I need to do SOMETHING but the moment I do anything my chest starts to feel like i’m getting stomped on…

… I hate Germs… I’m keeping lysol with me from now on.

XN

#2

I’m in the same boat brother.

I would up your vitamin C intake, take a couple more days off (up to a week if you aren’t feeling better by then), and eat as clean as possible.

Don’t worry about losing mass if your diet is on point. It probably won’t happen.

As far as strength, expect very minimal losses and to gain them back quickly if you lose any at all.

For me, it’s hard as fuck to stay away from the gym. But I realize it’s the best thing for me. Continuing to train while being run down with sickness and other stressors might actually cause you to start losing instead of gaining, as well as causing some minor depression which affects all areas of your life. I think you’re in college so your grades might suffer as well. I know I’m finding it hard as hell to study and concentrate right now.

This is just what I’m going to be doing the next week to recover from this bullshit. I’m sure others can offer more advice.

carter

#3

Dito on what Carter said but not only eat clean but BIG. you may put on little fat but just eating will help you heal and preserve your str. and muscle mass.

#4

You have never been ill before? Lucky man.

Anyhow: if you are truly ill, stop working out! It is one thing to lift when you feel crappy or have a slight cold, it is another to attempt to exercise when you have a fever, severe flu, bronchitis, etc. -Yes, I have had all of these and attempted to lift regardless.

Don’t worry about your conditioning/strength levels, they aren’t going anywhere from a short-term illness. After you recover, you might be down a little for a couple of days, but you not drop much.

#5

[quote]Xen Nova wrote:

1- How do I heal up faster while sick

Rest…Rest, and more rest. One day completely in bed can do wonders. Echinecea(SP?) really helps with recovery time also I’ve found.

2- How do I maintain my strength

You don’t. When you’re sick you’re not 100% on most anything. Mentally and physically.

3- How do I maintain my muscle mass (what little of it there is)

Get into the gym, even when sick and do maintenance workouts. What I do when sick is usually just hit all body parts lightly, kind of like circuit training.

4- When I’m back at 100% are my lifts going to be lower than they were prior to being sick?

Doubt it, especially if you do maintenance workouts. Unless of course you’re sick for like 6 months.

5- Should I lift at all right now or just chill out and heal up? I feel like I need to do SOMETHING but the moment I do anything my chest starts to feel like i’m getting stomped on…

I would take a good three to four days completely off and then start the maintenance workouts.

… I hate Germs… I’m keeping lysol with me from now on.

Try the Echinecea(SP?)…If I take it right when I feel a cold coming on, it kills it everytime.

XN[/quote]

#6

Up your total antioxidant intake (not just C), up your glutamine intake (about 40 grams or so) and rest.

Come back and hit it hard when you’re healed up.

-Dan

#7

Im just getting over a bad flu now, but didn’t have it nearly as badly as the rest of my family did. First signs I was getting ill I laid off the gym and started tossing every fresh fruit I could find in the blender w/ some greens powder. I also started using coconut oil for everything bc it is anti-microbial/anti-viral (and tastes great anyway), and made sure to have a big salad every day. I believe this is why I didn’t get the fever, chills, vomiting, etc. and only had some sinus problems/fatigue.

#8

Xen,

If you have a fever, fill up a REALLY big bucket with ice-cold water, go outside and douse yourself with it. This has never failed to fix me up.

#9

Yea I rarely get sick- last time was probably around 5th grade or so…

i’ll take the advice guys unfortunate timing but i’ll be back :slight_smile:

#10

Don’t be one of those bastards that goes to wrestling practice and gets the whole frickin team sick either!

#11

nope i just showed up to give support… i’m not that much of an ass haha

#12

Eat plenty of fruit, especially berries, apples and oranges. I’m a “fruit-aholic” and haven’t been really sick for about 6 years, even when everyone around me are dropping like flies with the flu. And keep up your water intake, if you have any sort of fever you will lose fluids through sweating.

And lay off the lifting. It sucks not doing anything, but your body needs all its energy to fight off the disease. Also, if you are laying around doing nothing you aren’t exactly burning up muscle either so you don’t need to worry about maintaining it. A few days won’t hurt and the rest may even do you good in the long run.

Hope you get better soon,

Ben

#13

[quote]Xen Nova wrote:

1- How do I heal up faster while sick
[/quote]
Take some time off and heal.

You won’t lose strength. I’ve taken as much as 2 weeks off and actually came back stronger and I’m probably old enough to be your father.

See the previous answer.

No. They may actually improve. Taking a short time out allows those little twinges and micro-tears to your muscles time to heal.

Take the time off and recover. Rent some movies or play your PS/2, XBOX, etc. read, relax and get well.

Frequent hand washing is the key to preventing illness. You would be better served by carrying around a bottle of waterless hand sanitizer in your gym bag and don’t be afraid to use it.

XN[/quote]

Don’t sweat it kid. You’ll be back in the gym ripping it up again soon.