Should I exercise with a cold?

Do the neck test!

Starting to have a few winter sniffles and wondering whether to sweat it out? Well first of all stop - and do the neck test.

This is commonly used in sports medicine and can have a crucial impact not only on how quickly you get over your cold but also how it may impact on the long term health of your heart.

So if you have symptoms above your neck such as a slightly stuffy nose, thick head and you feel like exercising, you can try but start out a slower and lower. If after 10 minutes you still feel okay and you'd like to continue then do so but at a steady pace.

If however you have symptoms below your neck such as achy joints and a chesty cough – it’s best not to exercise and listen to your body as these symptoms can be indicative of a viral infection and some viral infections can attack specifically the heart tissue.

(Copyright Joanna Hall Newsletter)