The common cold is an inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Symptoms include a runny nose and sore throat, but no fever or body aches and pains.
One of the biggest questions is whether you should exercise when you have a cold or flu.
If you have symptoms of a cold, doing mild to moderate exercise (a brisk walk or slow jog) doesn't appear to be harmful, but avoid high intensity exercise until a few days after the symptoms have disappeared.
Bonitas recommends some basic guidelines for exercise during infectious episodes. It is a good idea, though, to consult your doctor before you begin exercising:
Day 1 of illness:
Do not exercise strenuously when experiencing URTI symptoms like a sore throat, coughing, runny or congested nose. Avoid ALL exercise when experiencing symptoms like muscle/joint pain and headache, fever and generalised feeling of malaise, diarrhoea or vomiting.
Day 2:
Avoid exercise if fever, diarrhoea or vomiting present, or if coughing increases. If no fever is present and there is no worsening of "above the collar" symptoms, undertake light exercise (heart rate < 120 beats per minute) for 30-45 minutes (indoors during winter) by yourself.
Day 3:
If fever and URTI (or gastrointestinal) symptoms are still present, consult your doctor. If no fever is present and there is no worsening of initial symptoms, undertake moderate exercise (heart rate < 150 beats per minute) for 45-60 minutes, preferably indoors and by yourself.
Day 4:
If there is no symptom relief, do not try to exercise, and go and see your doctor. If this is the first day of improved condition, wait one day without fever and with improvement of URTI or gastrointestinal symptoms before returning to exercise.