Exercising while sick? Yes or No?

I was prompted to do a short post about this because currently I am sick and haven't ran since yesterday. Sad isn't it. 

Exercising when sick generally depends on the severity of symptoms that you possess. If you posses symptoms such as a runny nose or a sore throat then you may choose to continue to exercise, but should you choose to do so, do it a lesser intensity. I find that if you exercise when sick, particularly when you first recognise symptoms of the flu, you can in fact spend to much energy on replenishing damaged muscle and not have enough to fuel the immune systems fight against the flu. As a general rule, it is probably better to not physically exert yourself when sick, because you will most likely need energy to fight whatever type of sickness ails you. 

On Sunday of this week, I did a calf strengthening workout on my road bike by keeping to the bigger cog and restricting myself to the saddle. I first noticed symptoms of the cold coming on after that ride, such as sore throat, fever, and runny nose. The following day at athletics training we did a light training session structured as follows:

1. 15 minute tempo run

2. 8 x 20 second sprints (intense)

3. 15 minute tempo run

I exerted myself perhaps a bit too hard and felt the flu hit me hard in the coming evening. Currently, I am sitting down with a blanket on trying to keep warm :/. Evidence that maybe exercising while sick probably should be limited to easy exercise with little exertion. While sick, I try to eat healthy, keep hydrated (VITAL), and to get more rest than usual. Hopefully I'm up and about sooner or later...

So, in conclusion of my post, I think that in general you can exercise while sick, however it is probably very dumb to physically exert yourself too much, because it will only make you worse. 

This advice is not advice of a medical practitioner, and is not intended to be strict medical advice.