Your resting heart rate is already telling you
When you are sick your body is working harder than usual even at rest, to try to kick this bug that has taken hold of you. You will see this in elevated resting heartrate levels that are likely 10bpm higher than your norm. This is a clear sign to back off.
If you did train you would likely experience a serious drop in pace and speed at your usual training heartrates. This is a sign that your body is under increased stress and you should listen to it.
You will also see a decrease in your HRV (heart-rate variability) if you are monitoring this, and I strongly suggest that you do with an Oura ring, Whoop, compatible smartwatch or app like Elite HRV.
You cannot absorb the work
When you are sick this process can’t happen. Any training you do will be inferior plus your body won’t have the resources to absorb it and make you stronger as its busy fighting off the illness.
All training actually does is to keep you in a depleted state so that you can’t kick the bug quickly.
How to recover from being sick
So, rest up. That’s right do NOTHING. Let your body recover. Stock up on Vitamins, eat super healthy, become a great sleeper and nap expert.
The science is clear that if you do absolutely nothing for 4 days your VO2 won’t drop at all. In fact, you will be giving your body the chance to truly repair at a cellular level. All the inflammation, aches and strains will have chance to heal fully so when you come back to training you feel actually amazing.
It’s very common for athletes I coach to report that after a week off training they feel fresher on every level with some bounce in their stride and a renewed mental approach to the sport.
Supplements to take to boost your immune system
Here are some “to do” tips for when the bugs get you. You can add more but these are the essentials.
- Vitamin D (with K1&2) 5000iu × 2 per day
- Vitamin C (buffered) × 3 grams per day (take 3 doses spread out with water)
- Zinc × 25 mg per day
- Quercetin × 500 mg
- L-Lysine × 500mg +
Nutrition tips to boost your immune system
Make a casserole/slow crockpot of veggies and meat with BEEF bone broth and turmeric.
- No cold drinks or foods — only warm/hot or room temperature
- No sugar/alcohol including fruit apart from berries and apples
- No dairy (cheese, milk)
- Stay hydrated = lots of room temp water, peppermint tea, turmeric tea, lemon water
