Is it okay to keep exercising when you have a cold? What about the flu? With winter viruses going around, it's important to know how to alter your training if you do catch a germ or two. "The guidelines are pretty easy," says Dr Lorenzo Masci from the Alphington Sports Medicine Clinic. "Anything above the neck --- so if you've got a cold for example, a runny nose or a sore throat --- then you should probably cut down your exercise by half and do 50 percent of what you normally do." "If you've got anything below the neck, like muscle pain, joint pain or fever, you shouldn't really exercise at all until those general symptoms settle down," Lorenzo says. He points out that a cough would also fall into this more serious category. "For example, if anyone comes in with a fever and a runny nose, I'd tell them to stop exercising until the fever and the muscle ache settles. Then they can start their training again at 50 percent once all those symptoms settle, even if they've got a bit of a runny nose or a sore throat." "The reason we tell people to stop exercising is because if you exercise when you're unwell it can make the illness worse and prolong it." There is a second reason Lorenzo advises his patients to stop exercising when they have "below the neck" symptoms. In the event you have an illness which affects your heart, exercise can sometimes actually lead to death. Lorenzo advises to take zinc   and vitamin C as a way of preventing colds. But he admits that this is controversial --- some studies have shown that these supplements can improve immune function while other studies have cast doubt on the issue. The good news is that if you exercise regularly, you're likely to improve your immune function. "If you exercise too much, it can predispose   you to coughs and sniffles," he points out. This is often the case for excellent athletes who train every day, such as triathletes  . "But what we do know is that if you exercise at a moderate level, your immune system improves such that you're probably at a lower risk of developing coughs and colds." How should people do exercises with a fever or a cough?
They should probably reduce their training time by 50%. They should stop exercising until they recover. They should start exercising at 50% after their runny nose settles. They should do half of what they normally do.