Regular exercising helps maintain a healthy body and mind. But sometimes it’s fine to take an unplanned day off if you’re not feeling your best. Let’s talk about some cases when it’s better to stay at home.
There’s a common belief that you should work out when you’re sick to sweat it out. But exercising while being sick doesn’t help recover faster. In fact, it might only make you feel worse. Your body is working hard to fight the illness and adding exercise puts your body under more pressure.
If you have a mild cold, you should be good to do some light exercising like jogging or a body weight workout at home. But if there’s something more serious like fever, high blood pressure, flu symptoms or stomach bug, it’s better to stay in and let your body recover.
Good quality sleep is an extremely important part of a fitness routine. Not getting enough zzz’s can affect your performance and increase the chances of injury. So if you feel extremely tired or had less than five hours of sleep for several nights in a row, you’ll be better off staying home and taking a nap.
If you had an injury make sure to give your body enough time to heal. Meditate and focus on the mind training while your body is recovering. Also don’t torture your body if you are too sore from the previous workout. You can do some easy stretching, foam rolling or yoga to let your muscles repair.
Also pay attention to such symptoms as dizziness, headache, migraines, sweating and shivering or feeling light-headed. Contact your doctor if you have any symptoms or concerns.