You tend to come across two sorts of opinions around this..

Typical mainstream magazines will definitely say that if you’re feeling under the weather you should have a pause from the gym, in order to let your body recover.

On the other hand, you have Olympic coach John Broz who says you should get to the gym no matter how you’re feeling.
The reason behind going to the gym even if you are feeling ill is because doing something is better than nothing. Even if you go and lift at half of what you are capable of, you are still putting stress on your body – which is definitely better than sitting on your ass and watching Bojack Horseman on Netflix all day (BEST SHOW EVER – surprisingly depressing in Season 2 though…)

However, mainstream fitness argues that if you are already tired/ill, then pushing your body further will simply cause further harm, which will lead to you taking even longer to recover and having less productive workouts.

Now both are valid points, but before I say my opinion there is one thing I would like to address first – why are you getting ill?

The reason I ask this is because if you’re eating right and exercising and getting enough sleep (I know you’re reading this at 4AM right now) you should not be getting too ill too often.

But anyways, I incorporate both lines of reasoning regarding working out whilst being ill/tired:
My UNIGAINS program was designed for you to go gym between 4-6 days a week for a reason – it allows you to auto-regulate your gym sessions depending on how you feel.
Some days I feel stronger than others. Some days I have a lack of sleep because I had to wake up extra-early. The points is that the UNIGAINS program allows you to take mini-breaks and go only 4 days when you’re not at your best, yet allows you to maximize the times when you are feeling like HULK by letting you go 6 days a week.

That being said, you should go at least 4 times a week.

I don’t care how you feel, whether you’re crying because your girlfirend left you, because your assignment is due in tomorrow, or because you had a mad night out on a Wednesday night and had 3 hours sleep – YOU’RE GOING 4 TIMES A WEEK.

This may sound harsh, but it’s for your own good.
Now don’t get me wrong, if you’re feeling like shit I don’t expect you to be smashing PR’S – just getting in the gym and doing some air squats is better than nothing – just be sure to get in that gym and do something.

Remember fitness is just as much a mental battle as a physical one, and just getting up off your bum and going to the gym consistently helps you stay committed and stay on track to reach your goals!

-Mike

Got any questions? Email me at mike@unigains.com