Imune system

[R600]

I've been back cycling regulary for the last 2 years after a 7 year lay off. over the past 10 years i have had very little health problems, but this year i've had a urine infection and this last 2 months i've had 2 cysts become infected. this has meant 9 courses of antibiotics and between 2 and 3 months of the bike. could this be down to to much cycling (average 120 miles a week) and my imune system becoming weak. Getting blood tests done next week but the anti biotics are knocking me sideways now.

 

[ttcycle]

I can but sympathise, the blood tests will paint a better picture but it might just be that you're cycling whilst you're still unwell and not fully recovered - it can take a while to fully recover from infections.

If there's a lot of stress in your life this could be a contributory factor - it was for me.

GWS!

 

[ianrauk]

its the other way round for me. Before I took up cycling again 5 years ago I was ill a lot with colds, flu, chest infections etc. Now after loosing a ton of weight and becoming cycling fit I am hardly ever ill.

I agree with TTCycle. You're maybe cycling before you have fully recovered.

 

[ttcycle]

its the other way round for me. Before I took up cycling again 5 years ago I was ill a lot with colds, flu, chest infections etc. Now after loosing a ton of weight and becoming cycling fit I am hardly ever ill.

I agree with TTCycle. You're maybe cycling before you have fully recovered.

I think for me it was stress, huge amounts of it and at certain points overtraining and not taking it easy enough which just impacted and meant I was ill a fair amount.

Have you tried having a week or two off the bike to fully recover and see if you batteries recharge at that point?

 

[R600]

i have taken time of, but usualy when forced due to the infections. i'll have to give it a rest for a while and start when fully healthy. only problem is i just got myself a new carbon bike with ultegra last week but can't get out. i'm so frustrated LOL

 

[ttcycle]

i have taken time of, but usualy when forced due to the infections. i'll have to give it a rest for a while and start when fully healthy. only problem is i just got myself a new carbon bike with ultegra last week but can't get out. i'm so frustrated LOL

Trust me, it's worth the wait...think of it this way - do you want to be using your new machine when you're not quite well enough and can't sprint as fast as you could.

Save it up, it will be worth it more when you can blast fully on the bike rather than giving it half of what you can and getting tired and doing yourself in.

 

[Arsen Gere]

Immune suppresion on 120 miles a week is unlikely but possible depending on the intensity and regularity of the exercise.

The usual symptoms are repeated colds, flu and bronchitis rather than the symptoms you describe as the lungs are exposed to so many viruses and bacteria and they are a great breeding ground for infections. I experienced this on 250-400 miles/week in winter.

Carbs during and post exercise help prevent immune suppression. I tend to train carb delpleted and load up as soon as I finish. I race carb loaded.

I can't find the paper refering to the enhanced benefits of post exercise carb consumption but this one gives a summary of carbs during exercise. The conclusions are easy to read.

http://www.nature.com/icb/journal/v78/n5/abs/icb200076a.html

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/A...ic_exercise_training_effects_on_immune.1.aspx

 

[SquareDaff]

I too have found that since cycling regularly (around 100 miles a week) I get very little (virtually none) in the way of colds, coughs, bugs etc...
As soon as I stop for any length of time I catch everything.

Have come to the conclusion that the regular exercise boosts my immune system not hinder it!

 

[lulubel]

It sounds like bad luck to me.

I did go through a phase where I was exercising hard and getting a lot of cold/flu type viruses, but I think that was due to being at a very low weight at the time rather than excessive exercise.