How do you maintain an exercise habit when you’re sick?

It depends on the kind of sick–its incredibly important to listen to your body and meet it where it is. If you have a fevor and/or flu symptoms, your body will most likely need you to rest for at least one full day (often more then that) to heal as quickly as possible. However, after the first couple of days, and especially with upper respitory symptoms, walking can be a great way to get some exercise and to help congestion and bacteria move through the body. Gentle and breath filled stretching can also help to keep the body's blood flow circulating.

When I’m sick, I still exercise. My form of exercise is running, so when I am feeling under the weather, I typically take it easy by slowing myself down and shortening the distance and duration. While it is good to maintain your health by exercising while you’re sick, it is important to not overdo it to the point that you are risking your health; which is counterproductive, so just do what you are comfortable with. If you are stuffy and can’t breath and you typically do cardio, switch it up and give your muscles some attention with yoga, weight lifting, and/or core workouts. Just remember to take it easy so that you can recover sooner, rather than later. Feel better and keep up the good work!

I pick exercises with the lowest effort, and if there’s not a lot of pain I remind myself that I’d feel better when I do it.

It's really challenging to maintain an exercise habit while sick, but the secret is to keep moving and not fall for the coziness and temptation of the bed.
By keeping you movement around your house doing small chores your body regain it's powers and energy.
You will even get better sooner than if you decide to stay in bed for the whole week.
You can also do some basic yoga it doesn't need so much energy but it will sure help keep you motivated.

Do something simple like walking, jumping Jack's, and some core strength exercises. You dont even need to leave your home to do all the above.

Go lightly. Maybe stretch more instead of doing actual intense physical activity, or instead of doing leg day maybe bundle up and go on a walk for a long time. Work on your steps and breathing.

Unless I have a stomach bug, or am so severely sick I am unable to move, I will continue my routine. The exercise helps take my mind off of the sickness, and not exercising would weaken the habit.

It depend on how sick you are. If it’s just a minor cold, getting up to do a short and simple, easy version of whatever routine you do should keep the habit in place. However, if you’re too sick to get out of bed, it’s probably best to recognize that you’ll have to miss it until you feel well enough to exercise.

If i am badly sick i concentrate on getting well. If im just slightly sick like a mild headache or allergies i will try to get in some stretches or gentle yoga

I don’t, technically. I don’t exercise while sick, since recovery is likely a lot longer that way. I schedule the same time for something like stretching gently.

I always move around and try to walk as much as possible. However, those urges often arise at nighttime when I have to rebuke the urges to walk outside and have alternative distractions to enjoy👌

I don't. Exercising when sick is the worst idea possible and will only hinder you. I stop, take care of myself, and when I'm better I resume.

I would have to say,
"Take a break"!!!
(It takes 2 days for 1 day of exercise to where off)…***OR***
Do them every couple days.
Hopeyou feel better!!😀

Stick to a short meditative yoga flow when you are sick. That way you will be able to move your body and flex your muscles without over stressing yourself and you haven’t dropped your habit! There are plenty of good resources on YouTube you could use. Even looking up “yoga for when you are sick” will yield good results.

When I'm really sick i usually don't exercise at all, if I'm just little ill I modify my training plan with less difficult moves

Well, it really depends on what kind of illness you have. I’m generally not sick very often, but when I do catch a strain of the common cold, I don’t like to do strenuous activity that involves lots of breathing. Instead I opt for moderate intensity walking or lifting light weights. When it’s a stomach issue, I’ll try to meditate and utilize “square breathing” because I can’t lift heavy things or have long cardio sessions. But when I’m truly afflicted (ie in bed all day with a fever) I’ll refrain from all exercise in order to let my body rest. In conclusion, I know that when you're under the weather the last thing you want to do is exercise, but I also know how important daily routines are so I do my best to make an effort. Even if I’m not sweating or sore the next day, it still counts towards the routine. Hope this helps!

Movement is key when you are not feeling well. Take it easy and get lots of rest but do some stretches and low intensity weight-training to keep your blood flowing.

Any kind of movement is better than nothing . So housework and laundry if not too sick . If I'm really sick I let my body rest

You don’t. You shouldn’t. Get better first. Then go back to exercise. The main thing: don’t let the interruption of being sick stop you from getting immediately back in to the routine once you are better.

I tried to carry on cycling to work, and so on, when I had a cold. It made the cold much worse and instead of missing 3-4 days cycling I missed two weeks.

If you are sick or especially if your stomach is hurting most exercises will most like make it worse. You could do yoga poses or strech instead if you are intent on working out but otherwise I would focus on getting better with sleep

I think a misunderstanding about exercise is that is always needs to be impressive and sweaty. The point of exercising, to me, is doing something that suits me that day. For example, when I have a headache, I might have a walk for 15 minutes, if my belly hurts, I might do some calming yoga and if my muscles ache, I do some stretching. If I feel great and energetic, the same ‘action’ might be filled in with a 60 min circuit training or sweating hard on a cardio machine. I think exercise is a mindset and is most profitable if you suit it to your state. So if you’re sick, try and find a small doable thing to do, decide at forehand what goal you need to reach and feel a little bit better for achieving it afterwards!

The excersice habit is in your mind. As long as you do your maximum effort in any movement as excersise, you are acomplishing the habit.