Exercise and Swine Flu

Swine flu is a very hot topic in today’s world. It is a very serious illness that can even lead to death in extreme cases. Knowing how swine flu relates to exercise is a vital part of an overall healthy lifestyle.

Exercise is a very important part of maintaining a strong and healthy immune system. One of the keys to fighting illness in the body is protein. That is why you will feel weak after an extended period of illness. That is also why elderly people are more susceptible to stronger case of the flu. They have much less muscle mass than younger people. The body’s immune system uses protein in its battle against invading microorganisms. 

Therefore, it is very important to exercise regularly to maintain a strong immune response. To keep your body at its peak, you should exercise at least three times a week for at least thirty minutes. Strength training is the most important form of exercise to build muscle mass. Although it should never be used in replacement of cardiovascular activity, using it in combination with cardiovascular exercise is an important part of an overall healthy exercise regimen.

In the elderly, strength training is even more important. Because muscle mass diminishes as part of the aging process, it is important for elderly people to fit in at least twenty minutes of strength training three times a week. Whereas a younger person can get by with one session of strength training a week to build muscle, the elderly need more sessions to fight off the natural loss of muscle mass due to aging.

Even though exercise is an important part of building up a healthy immune system, too much exercise can actually destroy immune response. Elite athletes experience this all the time. They work out so much that their body is constantly breaking down protein in the muscles. That is how muscles are built. Exercise breaks them down, so the body responds by growing more muscle to compensate. The danger comes in overtraining, which can lead to a constant state of immune system breakdown.

Knowing this, it is apparent that you should stop your exercise routine at the first sign of illness. It takes roughly 48 hours to recover from a workout, and during that time the immune system will be compromised. If you continue to work out while you are sick, it will increase the amount of time it takes your body to fight off its illness. A couple of days of rest from exercise can save you a week or more of illness.