You’re probably into cycling because you enjoy being fit and healthy. So why is it that you’re always sniffling around with a cold bumming a Kleenex off your friends and doing a “Godfather” impersonation with a raspy sore throat? What are the “cold” facts on fitness and immunity and what we can do to stay out of sick bay and on the bike?
Forget Belgium in the Spring
Last week we talked about some of the things to consider when deciding on exercising outdoors in cold conditions. But if there is one thing you are guaranteed of in Canada, it’s that you better learn to love winters. It gives us Canucks something to talk about in rating the severity of different winters, but it’s kind of pointless when even the “mild” winters are so bone-shakingly cold. Even Pez HQ in Vancouver, which spends most winters thumbing its nose at the cold in the rest of Canada, got buried under a huge snowstorm in late November. But at least it gives us the moral upper hand when we watch the Spring Classics while swapping tales of our own epic cold rides and races.
So how tough is racing in Nova Scotia? Well, the winters are so severe that our traditional first race of the season comes about the same day as Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the last big spring classic in Europe! And to give us the full Euro experience, the season opener a few years back was about 5oC, windy, and pounding rain the entire 85 km race. Thanks to my research background in extreme temperatures, I was smart enough to dress up like Bib the Michelin Man (longsleeve polypro, thermal jersey, two shortsleeve jerseys, plus a winter jacket!) and ended up a big soggy sponge but at least not a case study in hypothermia.
After the race, I immediately changed into dry clothes and kept a wool hat on my head. However, I woke up the next morning with a tickle in my throat that got worse and stayed with me all week, making me tone down my training plans. What happened and why?
The Cold Facts on Immunity
Well, whoever it was that said moderation in all things was the best path is certainly right. The effects of exercise on our immune system is one of the hottest fields in exercise science, with literally an exponential explosion of research over the past decade. The consensus conclusion is that a little bit of exercise and fitness is terrific for strengthening your immune system, but either too little or too much both have the effect of weakening your immunity and increasing the risk of contracting minor infections like colds and the flu.
Your white blood cells, lymphocytes, and NK (Natural Killer) cells that are the blood-borne equivalents of Woody Harrelson fight off foreign substances and germs, and they all increase in concentration in your blood with a bit of exercise. However, the average cyclist goes well over what scientists regard as moderate exercise and land squarely in the danger zone of weakened immunity. It doesn’t help that many pro and amateur cyclists train so much with not enough recovery that they are chronically on the edge of overtraining, but that’s another article.
Not Just a Winter Thing
When I say weakened immune function due to heavy exercise, I’m talking about both a general depression in immune function from chronic and prolonged heavy training, and also after an acute bout of heavy exercise. The vast majority of ultra-endurance athletes had greatly reduced immune function for up to 72 h following an ultra-marathon. Therefore, not only do you need to take care of yourself day-to-day, but you need to be especially vigilant after races or other intense workouts.
Most of us also think of getting colds and flus as a winter-time thing, and many of us do take extra care of themselves during this time of the year. However, while getting knocked down with a bug during the off-season isn’t too much of a big deal in the big picture of an overall season planned around peaking for big summer-time events, it can become a much bigger problem in the early season and during the racing season itself, causing some impromptu and potentially stressful restructuring of training plans. Or the worse case scenario itself of getting sick directly before or during your peak events. Nobody deserves to plan their whole year and then see some microbe blow away those hours of training or dedication.
Preventative Medicine
Now of course a greater chance of catching a cold isn’t going to stop you or me from pursuing our passion for this sport. The main thing to do is to realise this reality and to take as many preventative measures as possible to prevent getting sick. This includes:
• Seriously consider getting a flu shot.
• Take a cue from Howard Hughes and get obsessive about washing your hands. If you doubt the effectiveness of this, keep track of how many times your hands/fingers touch your face (or touch something that then touches your face – like the cookie I’m snacking on as I’m writing this) over the course of an hour.
• Those of us with kids are at an even higher risk of infections thanks to daycare and school. There’s not much we can do to circumvent this short of sealing our kids off in a bubble and not letting them out of the house. So this makes things like washing your hands even more important.
• Get out of those sweaty wet cycling clothes as soon as possible after a workout or race without getting arrested for indecent exposure.
• The hat and longsleeve jerseys and tights the pros change into before going up on the podium are not just for sponsorship exposure. They help to keep the athlete warm and dry. ALWAYS pack a knit hat, longsleeve top, and pants in your race-day bag, even in the middle of summer, as you never can predict the weather. While you’re at it, keep a cap and sunscreen in the bag too.
• Do NOT share water bottles with teammates. While you’re at it, stay away from their sweaty sunglasses and helmets too. Do you really want to be sucking in their sweat or having their sweat dribble over your face?
• Keep yourself properly hydrated after a race by drinking lots. Bring a thermos with something hot for cool days.
You’re Still Sick – Now What?
If you take all these preventative measures and still end up with an infection like I did, do not take it lightly and start making plans to adjust your training for at least the next week. Despite what you may think, it’s not the end of the world to take a few days off or completely easy. Unless you’re right in the middle of the Tour or your absolute key races, it is almost always better to play it safe and take a few days off rather than risk a much worse infection.
If your significant other isn’t killing themselves with laughing at you, you might even convince them to give you some TLC for a day or two. Once you get back on the bike, resist the temptation to immediately hammer out hard intervals to make up for “lost” time. That’s because it can take your body up to a week to fully recover from even a minor cold, and it was the over-exertion that helped to get you sick in the first place! Remember, it’s always better to be under-trained and healthy than over-trained but sick!
About Stephen:
Stephen Cheung is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Dalhousie University, with a research specialization in the effects of thermal stress on human physiology and performance. He can be reached for comments at stephen@pezcyclingnews.com.
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