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Swine Flu is Not an Excuse to Stop Exercising
By Christina | September 24, 2009
At times of crisis, one of the first things people do besides panic is throw caution to the wind in terms of fitness and exercise. The idea being that if the world is going to hell in a hand basket anyway, we might as well go down with a fatter butt! A good friend of mine who is a a fitness fanatic got in a helicopter accident a while ago and could have died. At the crash site, the paramedics offered her juice and cookies. She said she ate a cookie that day because of her near-death experience. Let’s be clear, it takes a lot less than impending death for me to eat a cookie or a couple cookies for that matter. But, it says something when even the most stalwart fitness buff like my friend, in times of crisis, says ‘to hell with it.’
When the planes crashed into the Twin Towers on 9/11, that’s not the only thing that crashed. Healthy eating and exercising were replaced with fattening comfort food and a ‘who cares’ attitude about working out. The two most common excuses to justify the expanding waistlines of people around the country at that time were “Why bother if I’m just going to die anyway” and the altruistic excuse of “There are much more important things to worry about than how many carbs I’m eating.”
The Swine Flu epidemic is resurrecting some of this same chatter and behavior among people. The new excuse for not exercising, however, is “Going to the gym is just going to make me more likely to get sick.” The news is even guilty of going so far as propagating a ’social distancing’ theory which suggests you avoid public places if you can in order to stop the spread of the epidemic. There are several problems with using this as the cornerstone justification for sidelining your exercise regimen.
First of all, it is unrealistic to live your life in a bubble forever because of conceptually what could happen at some point in the future. In addition, The Center for Disease Control cites that being strong and healthy might not prevent you from getting Swine Flu, but it definitely will impact your response and recovery from it. Exercise strengthens not only your muscles, but also boosts your immunity.
There are some extra precautions you can take in regard to exercise that fall way short of abandoning it. Summer is well on its way and provides a perfect opportunity to take your exercise outside a couple times a week as a complement to always working out in the gym. Also, if you are working out at the gym, make sure you wipe down all equipment before and after you use it with a disinfectant wipe, and be sure to include weights and dumbbells. Cover all handlebars on cardio equipment with towels and place a towel on your mat before laying down to do crunches.
The most important rule you can follow is to stay home if you are sick. You are doing yourself and others a huge favor in stopping the spread of all illness. It is important to take note that the CDC does recommend taking extra precautions with children under 5, the elderly, and people who are immuno-suppressed. Because young children are more susceptible of being very sick or dying if they contract Swine Flu, it makes sense until things are more under control to have other babysitting arrangements for your children while you work out than bringing them to the child care at the gym. I know my 15 month old daughter will be staying at home for right now.
There is a difference between doing all that you can to stay healthy while you exercise and avoiding exercise altogether. Do not let times of crisis provide you with an excuse to stop living a healthy life. A strong and healthy body will allow you to face any crisis head-on.
