Does resistance exercise help with the common cold?

Resistance Exercise and the Common Cold

You should avoid resistance exercise during an active common cold and wait until symptoms have been absent for 2 days before resuming any exercise activity.

Clear Guideline Recommendation

The American Heart Association provides explicit guidance on this matter:

• Exercise only when feeling physically well. Wait until symptoms and signs of a "cold or the flu" (including fever) have been absent 2 days before resuming activity. 1

This recommendation applies to all forms of exercise, including resistance training, and represents the standard of care for exercise programming in both healthy individuals and those with cardiovascular disease.

Rationale for Avoiding Exercise During Illness

The physiological stress of resistance exercise during acute viral illness can be counterproductive:

• Resistance training, while beneficial for long-term health, places metabolic and cardiovascular demands on the body that compete with immune system function during active infection 1
• The body requires energy resources to mount an effective immune response, and exercise diverts these resources away from fighting the viral infection 1

What the Evidence Shows About Exercise and Cold Prevention

For prevention (not treatment), moderate-intensity exercise may reduce common cold incidence:

• Regular, moderate-intensity exercise may have a preventive effect with a relative risk of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.56 to 0.95) for developing colds 2
• Exercise may reduce mean illness days by approximately 3.5 days when performed regularly as prevention 2
• However, this evidence is of relatively poor quality with small sample sizes, and applies only to regular exercise as a preventive strategy, not exercise during active illness 2

Practical Algorithm for Exercise Decisions

When you have cold symptoms:

1. Stop all resistance exercise immediately when cold symptoms begin 1
2. Wait for complete symptom resolution (no fever, no nasal congestion, no sore throat, no cough) 1
3. Wait an additional 2 full days after symptoms resolve 1
4. Resume exercise gradually, starting at lower intensity than pre-illness levels 1

For prevention:

• Engage in regular, moderate-intensity resistance training 2-3 days per week when healthy 1, 3
• This may help reduce the frequency and duration of future colds 2

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Do not attempt to "sweat out" a cold through exercise - this is not supported by evidence and may prolong illness 1
• Do not resume exercise too early - the 2-day waiting period after symptom resolution is critical to prevent relapse 1
• Do not confuse prevention with treatment - while regular exercise may prevent colds, it does not treat active infections 2, 4