[moab63]

I know I read somewhere that after hard exercise your immune system is really low, so you can get ill quicker. I'm starting to believe it, I'm trying to get over cold number 4 this year. Is it just me or do you guys have the same problem Really sucks never been ready for a race because you are just getting over another cold.

 

[merlin]

I know I read somewhere that after hard exercise your immune system is really low, so you can get ill quicker. I'm starting to believe it, I'm trying to get over cold number 4 this year. Is it just me or do you guys have the same problem Really sucks never been ready for a race because you are just getting over another cold.

I used to have the same problem then I switched coaches. I'm no expert, but it seems I was training to hard, now I do A LOT of easy riding and hardly ever get sick.

 

[Pauly F]

I also believe it. Especially after my recent 7-day fever which started the day after my best ever mtb race effort. I hope you don't train the way I used to train: By simulating races with full-out effort over race distances on a challenging course 3 to 4 times weekly. That was such a waste of time. Now I realize that mtb endurance comes in part from the ability to make power for the hills (and not from enduring the hills) and that power increases come not from straining tired muscles but from high quality interval training using fresh legs followed by plenty of rest. Long, easy rides are fine for recovering muscles. I wasted so much time and energy by not training smart. Now I'm making big gains fast. And not getting sick. So. If you are getting sick alot. Make sure you're not making the same mistakes I made.

Good Luck

 

[RichardinLA]

Yup, I'm wondering the same. 2005 was my first year of constant high-output riding and I got strep twice and so many colds (mostly head/sinus stuff) that I lost count. I still push myself harder than I should, but have been germ free since April. If I see a repeat when the 2006/2007 school year (A 2 and 5 year doesn't help!), I will have more proof.

I'm just having too much fun riding race simulations on grueling trails right now. Plans are to back off and do Zone 2/3 rides the vast majority of the time from Oct-Mar. I've even got a set of slicks on a spare set of rims waiting for the occasion.

 

[DirtSnake]

I hope you don't train the way I used to train: By simulating races with full-out effort over race distances on a challenging course 3 to 4 times weekly. That was such a waste of time.
Good Luck

LOL. Yeah I used to train that way too ! Although maybe only twice a week. Felt hammered after every ride [so must be making me stronger, right?], took a couple of days at least to recover from the abuse. It's probably better than doing nothing... But now I get better results with less time by doing intervals on the road bike.

Regarding being sick - maybe it has to do with your body adapting to training. This is only my 3rd year of training. In the first year, I got sick *a lot*, especially during the endurance building phase. It was so bad I went to an internist [sp?] to try to figure out what was wrong with me. The second year, was much better, though had a few weird episodes. This year, no problems at all.

 

[Tcov]

I also believe it. Especially after my recent 7-day fever which started the day after my best ever mtb race effort. I hope you don't train the way I used to train: By simulating races with full-out effort over race distances on a challenging course 3 to 4 times weekly. That was such a waste of time. Now I realize that mtb endurance comes in part from the ability to make power for the hills (and not from enduring the hills) and that power increases come not from straining tired muscles but from high quality interval training using fresh legs followed by plenty of rest. Long, easy rides are fine for recovering muscles. I wasted so much time and energy by not training smart. Now I'm making big gains fast. And not getting sick. So. If you are getting sick alot. Make sure you're not making the same mistakes I made.

Good Luck

WOW, sounds VERY familiar. I thought I had corrected my "too hard training situation" but maybe not (or maybe just bad luck). I'm a very successful Expert racer (going semi-pro now) and was to be racing in the National Championships this weekend. Unfortunately, just like the week before Fontana, I got sick AGAIN. I just canceled my hotel for Sonoma! I plan on training a bit smarter now, eating better, sleep, etc.

 

[moab63]

I guess I should have said too often, but anyway

I thing I have a couple of things going against me. I work in sales so I do a lot of handshakes everyday and my wife is a preschool teacher, so my take is that she brings every know virus to my home. She has been a teacher for 20 years or so so she is inmune to all that stuff , me I'm just a weak man.

Ok so now I know I'm not the only one.

 

[glenzx]

Hell NO!!!!!!!!

My non-active coworkers are constantly sniffling, achy, whiny, runny nose, hacking allergy infested types. Like a freakin TB ward! Me? Those intervals seem to blow the system right out, and decent diet and rest assure good recovery and overall health. The comments regarding over training as well as all the public meet-and-greet type stuff could be part of the problem, but I wonder about your office/home environment.... good fresh air and non-toxic carpeting and all that other stuff? Or typical rash-causing VOC laden materials abound? There's my two-pennies. Stress is a biggie too....

 

[fishtanker]

"Alcohol is a cleanser" - Its what my old fraternity brothers used to say when you felt a sickness coming on.

 

[pwrtrainer]

i havent been sick in 7 years and i ride 4 times a week and work in a gym in contact with every imaginable walk of life. if you train smart and periodize your program as well as have lots of fruits and veggies you wont have to worry. rest properly and dont let yourself go, stay in shape or you will get sick. it also could be the 40 shots i got while in the AF but i think it is because im in shape,,,

 

[Cyco-Dude]

i've never been really sick for quite a while now, but i find that i tend to get those "day colds" more often when i don't ride. i do interval / sprint work 3-4 times a week with the other days being recovery rides or days off. listen to your body! if you can't get the work-out you want, take a day off and rest. it's better than forcing yourself and getting some plague :thumbsup:

 

[serious]

moab63: Ok so now I know I'm not the only one.

Definitely not the only one. I have been training hard this summer and last week I went on vacation to Cuba where I got sick within 2 days. A simple sore throat escalated to pulmonary infection. I spent the rest of the vacation on antibiotics and cough syrup (although the nice salsa music and beautiful Cuban girls made it all better).

Today I had my first road ride after 12 days of doing nothing but eating like a pig. Not surprising I felt like a pig too.

I think I also need to train smarter. My problem is that I love to train really hard and ride myself into the ground.

 

[douglas]

1 sick day in last 5 years of work for me.

 

[thermanellis]

I'm probably going along the same lines as everyone else, but the real truth is you have a higher chance of getting sick if you train really hard, and don't get enough nutrients or sleep. If you train harder than ever, and get the correct amount of nutrients replaced, which would be more than ever, and enough rest, which would be more than usual, you should technically have a lower chance of getting sick.
The first month of my wrestling season was the toughest but I was always eating for energy, and slept more too. I didn't get sick at the beggining of the season because of this. When I started cutting weight, and tournaments kept me up late, I started getting sick. I couldn't get around that, but in mountain biking, you can. Train harder, and at the same time get energy replaced, and rest. Nothing beats intense training.

 

[Spinny]

I thing I have a couple of things going against me. I work in sales so I do a lot of handshakes everyday and my wife is a preschool teacher, so my take is that she brings every know virus to my home. She has been a teacher for 20 years or so so she is inmune to all that stuff , me I'm just a weak man.

Ok so now I know I'm not the only one.

Man, I hate shaking people's hands. I think you've found the sick source here.
I've found it necessary and effective to behave in an exaggeratedly paranoid way.
When in public, just treat your freshly shaken, public door knob grabbing, grocery cart handling, surface touching hands like a highly contaminated and contagious item. Don't touch any part of yourself or your home until they're decontaminated. You might want to try Purell, or babybutt wipes. I do public interface work, and it works for me. I have over 300 unused sick hours on my account.

 

[Beldrueger]

Lots of good comments. I think the more you train, the more you start to find where the edge is. With a full time job, it becomes harder to maintain that peak level of fitness. I know that If I have a stressful week and try to get a hard 16 hout workout week in as well, I'm asking for trouble. You have to be aware of ALL the stressors in your life, guage how well you are resting and recovering, and then decide how much training you should put in during a given week. I flex from 1 rest day to 3 depending on all of the above factors.

You have to be flexible. Don't force the workout if your mind and body are screaming against it. I travel a lot and have many long days, so I've become pretty savy about getting enought rest in. In the meantime my results continue to improve.

 

[LyNx]

I don't race, but I ride about 4-5 times a week, put in some hard efforts and if I didn't I think I'd be getting sick more often like the rest of the non-active's around me I get sick about once a year if that. Seriously I think you are OVER TRAINING, take it easy and listen to what the rest have said about that - Train Smart!!

 

[Greebler]

I thing I have a couple of things going against me. I work in sales so I do a lot of handshakes everyday and my wife is a preschool teacher, so my take is that she brings every know virus to my home. She has been a teacher for 20 years or so so she is inmune to all that stuff , me I'm just a weak man.

Ok so now I know I'm not the only one.

I say you build a decontamination chamber outside of your front door, this way you can just hose her down before you come in contact. Read The Hot Zone for ideas... ::sarcasm:::

Honestly guys, I have a few nutritionist friends and they all say to preload the following in order to avoid long term sick spells.
- Vitamin C - EmergenC packs rock! (Local grocery store)
- Zinc lozenges
- MultiV supplement
- Fluids
- Silver drops - My roomate takes these, people recomend them but I am disbelief

Out of all of these, I personally swear by these EmergenC packs. Cures hangovers really well in addition to avoiding sickness.