I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to for generously sharing your invaluable knowledge and insightful advice on healthcare via social media. Your contributions are immensely appreciated, and your dedication to helping others navigate health-related matters is truly commendable. Your expertise serves as a guiding light for many, and your willingness to share information contributes positively to our collective well-being. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of so many individuals through your thoughtful contributions.

Just had 4 weeks off the bike after lovely grandchildren shared coughs and cold, first week barely did anything managed walking then some floor exercises. Week 5 got 3 rides in but much slower than I would like its so hard being patient but I agree with you if you push or rush it never works

I know someone who had a lung removed by training with a cold that got itself into a case of pneumonia as he would not take the time to recover properly. After he recovered from the operation and he was 20 yrs older than me he was still fitter and faster. However one lung less isn’t the ideal. Some healing cannot happen in two places at The same time the critters in your blood and immune system often can not cope with multiple problems. GREAT VIDEO it’s true.

I hate going, but you've convinced me that it's time to throw in the towel and make that GP appointment!

So timely. I’ve been on holiday (2 National Express trips to and from LHR and 6 flights in 3 weeks. So I was 3 1/2 weeks without normal exercise/training levels anyway just snorkelling and yoga and v gentle cycling on sand.. Got back Thursday, spin Friday was 20w down, utility cycling Sat and in the space of 10 mins after getting home I went from fine to horrendous, voice had gone, aching…. 48 hrs after last flight/bus. Now watching all the you tubes whilst knitting 😂 with a milky decaf and having to accept that I’ll be starting training all over again in a couple of weeks, hopefully! The hard cough has set in… My sympathies to you, just grateful this has happened after holiday!

The early comment of tracking Heart Rate Variability is so true. I finally had Covid in early December and my HRV scores plummeted taking 3-4 weeks to return to normal. I took my comeback slowly and easy, and my scores are now back to normal. My fitness is still lagging behind where I was in late November but at least I haven’t been sidelined for months, as other runners have. Great film as always.

Sorry to hear about the leurgy. I've just shifted my first cold in three years (Im 61). Fortunately it only lasted 5 days. So I should be back on the bike fairly soon. You too, no doubt. Meantime, keep taking the tablets! Cheers

Good advice, especially remaining warm & well hydrated to help the body deal with the illness. I’ve seen too many healthy older cyclists & runners crushed by training hard through a cold. They end up with months of niggly illnesses and susceptibility to any respiratory disease knocking around. Some don’t seem to ever fully recover. Inactivity, unless enforced by the illness, is equally harmful. I call it “living gently”, stay active on a low heart rate, keep warm (even a little hot) and be ready to go home. The toughest aspect I have found to living gently and letting my body do its job combatting a cold, is confidence. Holding to the truth that you won’t be unfit and overweight in four to six weeks of living gently takes nerve. Yes, the polish of performance may have tarnished but it soon returns. If you compete or take part in challenges, think long term and not just about the next event. Skip one to do many.

Very useful video and good timing. I'm a 4 x a week runner early 50's, rarely ill but this recent cough has kept me off running for 6 weeks so far. I'm convinced it's the pertussis virus and am now back off sick with a sinus infection. Was walking daily until yesterday. Am definitely getting some first defence in to fight off anything else that tries to get me. Hope you are better by now!

Approaching 60 soon, as a healthcare professional now and former military diver & competitive triathlete and active dirt bike rider the last 12 yrs, I can so relate to this video. Short & sweet message. Thanks. 😊

Brilliant! I'll go for that walk tomorrow. What a great awful piece. Thanks

Thanks again for this sound advice. Much appreciated for us "oldies". There's just loads of that "3 week cough" going round. Mine's just shifted but we had the fist big group club bike ride out the other weekend ("Pie Ride" :-) ) and there were a lot of people calling it off with coughs and colds. One of the worst winters we've had for a long time I reckon. As regular commute cyclist I can't remember so much rain for so long, ever.

Thank you so much for these videos. I always find your content helpful, engaging, and beautifully produced. This video was no exception. I am so grateful for you sharing these with us. 🙏

As always stellar advice. Just got over a much less severe cold myself - I also use my HR monitor and HRV to help know how ready I am for some training.

Hope your are feeling better, thanks for sharing good advice Simon.

Just had to take 4 weeks off - never had anything close to that before - due to a virus which became bacterial sinusitus. That, and the side-effects of the antibiotics when I finally got them has just been awful...but I think I am ready for a light spin today (indoors). It's been so difficult to just back right off to nothing for so long but I managed to reach acceptance given your perspective that pushing it just risks even longer-term health impacts. Missing a training session vs missing the whole summer - no brainer really, especially as the years advance.

Very interesting. The advice I was given as a young man (I admit not yesterday!) was, run with a cold, but not a fever. I do believe in resting up, keeping warm and drinking lots when under the weather. I have never taken a cold to the GP, nor taken drugs to help shift one, so you have given me lots to think about. I enjoy your videos and I am working my way back through this series on diet, health and fitness and finding them very interesting, not to mention motivating. Thanks.

You’re not losing anything by falling back and starting all over again. I never feel that I’ve completed training, I’m training at variable levels all the time anyway. Flying or contact with someone who’s has recently got off an airplane is a sure way to get sick. Thanks for this!

Great video!!! Get Well soon

Another great video, feel better and keep them coming👍🏻

I'm a 62 year old woman and have trained EVERY DAY since I was 17 years old. I rarely get ill but when I do I train anyway - just take it slightly easier. My last major sickness was a bad chesty cough that lasted 8 weeks - I managed just fine by easing off the intensity A LITTLE. If I didn't train my mental health would suffer greatly. I'll take my chances and keep training.

Excellent video. Lots of good advice in there.

Excellent video. Thank you. 👍

I am 76 years old and do a fitness workout twice a week, total time about 3 hours. No heavy training, but enough to stay in shape and don't lose strength. Besides that I mountainbike twice a week. I take exta vitamine B12 and D and that's it. Never in my whole life I used ibruprofen or another kind of relatively heavy painkillers and I only take one or two paracetamols once or twice a year. I don't think it is necessay to take all that stuff you mention when you only are coughing or think that you maybe will catch a cold or actually caught a cold. Your body can cure itself from these minor 'diseases', even when you are old. Training it little less then usual is a good advice.

Excellent upload, some useful tips I can use - thank you. One observation I have made though - during lockdown, I was not exposed to viruses of any kind, and when I went back to normal, my immune system was rekt, I caught everything going, badly. What I learnt was by being around people, it's a kind of workout for your immune system if that makes sense. I don't like to avoid being around bugs, I welcome it - it keep my defenses alert, not had a bug for 15 months since 😀

Thanks for sharing this! I have been down for almost three weeks 😢every time that I start basic stretching exercises, I am out of breath and knackered🫤

A few days off at the beginning of a cold, and in winter staying inside for a few days can stop it going on to be a cough that lingers for weeks and weeks.

Great info!

I made the mistake this week by going out on Wednesday on a bike ride, which was quite cold. I had been slightly chesty for a few days, by Friday my muscles were aching and had a terrible nights sleep. Probably the bike ride gave me a chill, so I haven't been outside bar one trip to the supermarket by car since. The heating has been whacked up so fingers crossed it doesn't go full blown flu. Thankfully I learned about big doses of vit d "after" long covid so feeling ok for now. Best advice is to keep hydrated, in the warm and get plenty of rest.

This was perfect timing as I'm in the not sure if it's over stage.

Very good video. I hadn’t had a cold for many years, one journey on a plane & bingo!

Thankyou for this video! I've learnt a few things I didn't know, (or chose to ignore). I decided to go against my usual rules and do a 75 mile event on the bike , as i was looking forward to it for some time ,and it was in a beautiful area . I made myself ease back a bit as HR was higher than usual, but got fed up with that when i hit the hills. I also didn't want to stop to get water, so ended up super dehydrated ,and crawling up the last climb. I had a constantly running nose, and sneezing. I assume this is why we get more dehydrated with a cold? You did mention this, but not sure what causes it.

Hi Simon I unfortunately went out for a bike ride the day after a covid injection not a good idea, I suffered for that decision for about 3 weeks I think I had a bit of a cold before the injection, but I'm back on the bike. I was in TV back in the 60s... 2 channels black and white and Ena Sharles was in Coronation Street I was a TV engineer 😊

We started taking Vit D3 during the late summer to spring some 10 to 15 years ago, neither of us have had a cold since, despite coming into contact with lots of people who had…

My wife swears by the First Defence stuff, she's convinced me as well.

More great advice! Well, right up until you mentioned decaff! 😬 Seriously though, good stuff here that we can all pay attention to. Yes, sometimes we can train with a cold but unless we are a serious competitive athlete willing to make calculated risks I don't think it is worth it for most of us. That said, I woke up with a sore throat today & still got on the turbo. But I thought about it first & put myself under no pressure to train. Walking is always good for gauging fitness. I can feel really drained of energy on a walk & that is a good sign I shouldn't be hitting the training hard. Sure we lose VO2Max quickly but we regain it quickly too, providing we don't let ourselves develop a serious health condition by returning to training hard too soon. But a pal of mine - a pretty serious time-trialist - got a cold then COVID last November & had to take a full 10 days off the bike, something he's not done in years. Two weeks back into training & he beat his times from just prior to getting ill. Never underestimate the performance gains from enough rest.

could be coincidence or luck but ever since using honey on a daily basis ive not had a common cold.(around 5 years) must be something in the natural antiseptic properties 👍

I just ran for the first time since Jan 20th when i went down with flu ,fully agree, you need to rake it steady and build back up, i alsk walked instead of running, tough at parkrun as all the runners whizzed past...😂😂

I am always horrified by how many of my cycling buddies will come on rides when they are clearly unwell and try and "fight" through it. Insanity. Rest and recover is the only way.

v gd...goin thru this now..!

BTW. The corticosteroids such as Prednisolone that you showed. Banned in competition under any WADA / UK Anti-Doping covered sport (= cycling, athletics, swimming, triathlon etc etc) but ok (in tablet form) 'out of competition' - which I think means a month or more before the event. (Unless you're an elite cyclist or triathlete and can get some dodgy retrospective TUE after winning a medal at the Olympics or a Grand Tour 🤔).

I am close to 48 and currently have a cough - I know what I can run in 30 mins, and I know my average HR during that period. I just listen to my body and if I feel anything in chest etc, I don't even bother going on run. Today I did my normal 30-40 min run and it was pretty normal - HR average 144. But man I hate getting ill and it messing up my routines.

I'm always in two minds about this. The advice here is sound, but when I have a cold I always seem to feel better for doing some exercise - obviously not flat out, but some. A few weeks ago I had a persistent cough and running nose which only abated while in the gym. Very odd. This was strength training rather than cardio or endurance though. Maybe that's the key - don't put stress on the cv system?

A good vitamin d3,zinc and magnesium works for me(wife works in a primary school). The worst thing for me was having general anesthetic for minor operation it took months before I felt right!

"from Covid days". Currently several weeks into "recovering" from a dose of Covid. It's still a thing. Totally laid up. (Probably a perk of my bus pass).

Interesting what is the cortisol for and how do you frame this with doctors

After a particular persistent upper respiratory tract infection, with added rhinitis and sinusitis - and not a believer in antibiotics - the best thing I have done is buy a nebuliser - a simple sea salt solution reduces both nasal mucous and throat phlegm and in my case has stopped the infection going chesty, which it usually has done. It is a very simple and effective way to palliate all the symptoms, including the dry cough. I have also used magnesium chloride and eucalyptus to good effect. Certainly worth buying and a non pharmaceutical alternative. Great content for us geriatics by the way.

And one other thing to go with all this good stuff (this has taken me 50+ years to properly realise)... A proper amount of SLEEP.

Prednisalone! Oh boy, this is a drug I've spent two years trying to get off. It's so bad for your bones and effects your adrenal glands. For me at 69 sleep and chicken soup are the best answer for colds and no more than a walk until it's gone. I hope you don't take the pred for more than a day or two Simon.