Ask An Expert: Tommy, I Need Help Working Out While Sick With Allergies!
Q: Tommy, I suffer from hay fever and seasonal allergies. When I’m running in the summer, I find myself winded and somewhat congested. Is there exercises I can do while I’m sick with these symptoms that can tie my over until the allergies have passed?
~ Jane
A: Hi Jane, thanks for your great question! It’s that time of the year when allergies seem to take over. Don’t despair though, there are a lot of other activities that you can do to avoid the “allergy breakdown”. Being winded and congested will make even the best runners have sub-par workouts, so you will have to mix it up a little bit when the pollen is in full bloom. Because you are a runner and cardio is your thing, a great cross training substitution for you would be to get in the pool. Try this workout:
Warm up with 10 laps in the pool, using a front crawl stroke. After that you will be pretty warm so it’s time for some actions... get in the shallow end of a pool with the water level up to your midsection. If you have a pair of aqua socks your feet will thank you. While holding onto the side wall of the pool, perform 20 repetitions of knee drives on each leg (bring your knee up as high as you can). The water will act as a great force of resistance. After that do it is on to a set of butt kickers (heel to butt) for 20 reps each leg. Maintain a solid core and avoid any extra momentum from your body. As soon as your done those two exercises, sprint the length of the pool twice...that’s one set finished, do three sets in total. Now you get to go and play in the deep end. You will be performing deep water runs, if you cannot swim, do not go in the deep end! Strap a floatation belt around your waist and get into the deep end of the pool. Push off and start to run...really run as natural as you can, bringing your knees up as high as you possibly can, and pump your arms. Do 5-10 sets of 1 minute long runs. Cool down with 5-10 laps of any stroke you like.
You’ll have a great time with this workout and you won’t have to worry about being congested, but you will definitely be winded!
Good luck and I hope this helps you out on those days that you can’t go outside.
Play safe and have fun,
Tommy Europe
Written by: Tommy Europe, host of The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp and Bulging Brides
For more information, check out http://www.tommyeurope.tv/
Check out previous health related Ask An Expert blogs written by Tommy Europe!
Do you have a quesiton for our experts? Email askanexpert@slice.ca now!
Slice is now on Twitter. Follow us to find out the latest on your favourite shows!
Become a fan of slice.ca on Facebook!