Tips for Staying Healthy in the Gym During Cold and Flu Season

Title pretty much says it all.... I've been climbing regularly in the gym this winter for the first time and it seems like I have been sick with one thing or another which is unusual for me. I guess it makes sense since everyone is pretty much touching the same holds - perfect environment to spread germs. I've started carrying a travel size hand cleaner and using it between climbs, but it is pretty hard on the skin. I'm also trying to be really aware of not biting the rope when clipping, still sometimes find myself doing that when I clip high, but that is a whole other issue... For the record, I'm trying not to contribute to the problem by staying away from the gym when I am sick. Every time I return to the gym after an illness this winter it seems like I catch something new. I have literally only had about 6 total days in January of feeling well which really sucks. Any ideas or tactics people use to stay healthy or is this just part of it?

Getting sick all the time is def not part of climbing in the gym. I mean yes there are all sorts of people touching everything that you are, and putting things in your mouth is just a part of climbing Erika... lol but seriously, sounds to me like you never fully recovered before you hit the gym again. It's hard to give it that extra day, but the 1st day or 2 that you start getting better after being sick is not the day to go crush, you just end up getting sick again.

Don't go to the germy' gym ! You don't spread your cold, you don't catch their flu. Get outside, fresh air, skip the gym during flu season's worst weeks in your area.

• Don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth until you've washed/sanitized your hands. Sanitizing between each route seems like an overkill IMO unless you touch your face a lot or can't remember not to.
• If you take mat-based classes (pilates, yoga, etc) bring your own and clean it off afterward. Clean off anything shared that might come in the proximity of your face.
• Get your flu vax.
• Keep your immune system healthy (get enough sleep, eat enough fruits/veggies, etc).

fossana wrote: * Keep your immune system healthy (get enough sleep, eat enough fruits/veggies, etc).

Best advice you're gonna get on MP, also maintain lower stress levels.

Ryan Kempf wrote: Best advice you're gonna get on MP, also maintain lower stress levels.

Lower stress levels? I'd have to quit my job to lower my stress levels! Nice snowy days outside are my best mental health days for sure, throw in some ice climbing and I'm feeling even better.

Use lots of chalk; stay away from hand sanitizer.

Bear spray anyone who coughs within 3 feet of you. Best to warn them first.

Old and Busted wrote:Bear spray anyone who coughs within 3 feet of you. Best to warn them first.

I like this idea!

Yeah I may be grasping at straws in blaming the gym environment. I do a lot of other activities (skiing, mountain/road biking, climbing NOT in the gym) and manage to stay healthy through those. It may be coincidental but each time I have gotten sick this winter it has been a distinctly different illness, starting with the flu (I did get a flu shot in Oct) and it has been within 24 hours of climbing in the gym. I thought I had recovered fully from the flu (took > 2 weeks off and came back super slow - made a point of climbing easy and limited the number of routes). I think the flu might have knocked my immune system on its ass more than I thought and maybe I'm just more susceptible to viruses now. Just call me Fragile Flower.

The hand sanitizing between routes definitely seems like overkill, I wondered if anyone else had tried that but it seems like maybe the frequent illness thing just isn't a big problem for most. I just need to focus on getting completely healthy and practice good overall habits. A high stress job and chronic lack of sleep are not helpful, and it's on me to manage those things better.

Thanks for the reminders - Fossana and Ryan!

I've found that keeping a vaporizer next to my bed at night keeps my airway from drying out, and reduces my vulnerability to any kind of respiratory tract disorder. This gets more and more important as the outside temperature drops, since heating the air inside a house lowers the relative humidity.

If I'm out for a full day on X-C skis or snowshoes, I sometimes carry a gas cartridge stove and some kind of instant soup mix. A quick shot of hot soup seems to keep my throat from drying out, which is when I get more vulnerable to respiratory illnesses. A thermos full of hot soup might work, too, but for a long day in really cold temps a thermos isn't enough.

Very un-scientific observation: I believe that viruses spread easily in dusty environments here in CO. This was pointed out to me by an old work partner who hailed from the gulf coast. He told me he was always always catching colds and flu's up here versus at home, thinking that the thin dry air is conducive to the things being able to travel airborne easier. I just started a commercial remodel job. The demolition of the existing walls, ceilings, floors, etc. creates a ton of dust. I also just got nailed by a respiratory infection. I almost always catch a virus of some sort when I do these kinds of jobs; as do my co-workers; hence my buddy's observation.
Can't imagine a dustier environment than climbing gym; plus hands all over everything.