This week I’ve been laid low by the common cold. Its not a life and death illness and its certainly not flu (no aches and pains, not bad enough to languish in bed all day) but I’ve had a slightly raised temperature along with all the usual symptoms of coughing, sneezing, congestion and generally feeling a little unwell. As a serious fitness professional, and very committed to my own training, am I really going to allow a little thing like a cold to get in the way of my workout? Yes absolutely, no training for me this week.

Ignoring an illness or injury can have serious consequences. Failing to acknowledge the severity of either illness or injury is a risky strategy and one likely to lead to longer term problems. When it comes to illness the general rule of thumb is anything from the neck upwards is probably ok to train through whereas conditions affecting the neck downwards are a no-no in terms of training. So, for example, a cough, cold etc may mean that gentle exercise is possible but a chest infection or gastro-intestinal disturbances rules out training. However, it is important to consider how you feel as well – and lets be honest here, the common cold can make you feel pretty grotty – so if on a scale of 1 – 10 (1 being flat out in bed unable to do anything you feel so ill and 10 being 100% well) you are anything below a 5 think carefully before engaging in exercise or sport. I’ve judged myself as “3” so have correctly decided against training for a few days.

Injury can be devastating to anyone who takes their training seriously. Injury may come about as a result of a specific incident or may be related to a biomechanical issue. Many years ago, when I first started running, I picked up a common running related injury. I was elated! Now I had proof I was a runner, because only runners get running injuries, my injury was a badge of honour and undeniable evidence of my commitment to running. With the benefit of hindsight I now see what a mad, warped way of thinking this was! Over the years I have sustained other injuries but as I have become older and wiser my response to injury has altered.

The first thing to do with any injury is acknowledge it. Sounds simple enough but so many people chose denial when first faced with an injury. I have had countless conversations with clients, friends and acquaintances regarding injury and without exception no-one likes to face the reality that modifications to training may be in order. Pain, however mild, is a warning sign and your body’s way of getting your attention. Tempting as it might be to ignore an injury until it stops you dead in your tracks do so at your peril! What starts as an irritating niggle can quickly escalate into a full blown issue if you don’t heed an early warning sign. So the first thing to do is to stop and take stock of the situation. Cease using the affected body part and where appropriate remember RICE; rest, ice, elevation and compression. (Clearly if it is a serious injury you will need to seek medical help straight away.) It may be possible to continue some form of training without further compromising the injured body part, for example if a lower body injury has been sustained upper body resistance training and core work could still be carried out. If after three days of rest you are no longer aware of the injury you can cautiously resume training but if you are aware of the injury after this initial three days wait another three days. If you are still conscious of the injury after 6 days of resting the body part then continue resting for a further 3 days and if after a total of 9 days you are still troubled by your injury it may be time to get a full assessment by a health professional. Follow this approach and you increase your chances of making a full and swift recovery, ignore injury and you could be looking at long term problems and months of missed training sessions.

If you’re affected by illness or injury it’s important to revue your training and assess if it has impacted on your health. Frequent illness may point to lowered immunity, poor eating or sleeping habits or an underlying health problem whereas injury has numerous causes such as poor exercise technique, excessive and repetitive movement patterns, and flexibility issues. Functional movement screening combined with postural assessment can identify muscular imbalances, weaknesses and faulty movement patterns. If you are beset by frequent or recurring injury enlisting the help of a fitness professional will be invaluable in setting you on the road to recovery.