steven's Blog

One of the hardest calls to make as a runner is when to resume training after illness.

If you're used to training every day at a moderate or high intensity, missing a few days can be as much of a mental challenge as physical. Sure, when you're sick you don't want to exercise, but it's that fuzzy recovery phase that can be tricky to negotiate, especially if you're on a training program.

 

In fact, sports physicians agree that athletes need special attention when it comes to managing exercise post-illness.

 

James Lawrence, a Sydney-based sports medicine specialist, says athletes are generally attuned to their bodies and have a good sense of when they are sub-par. But reining in their enthusiasm to train at high intensity can be difficult.

 

"It's a contentious issue and there's been very little research in the area of returning to training after illness," Lawrence says.

 

"Athletes who are familiar with their resting heart rate can use it as a guide for returning to exercise. Otherwise, the rule of thumb that's generally applied is the 'above the neck, below the neck' check."

 

Above the neck symptoms include a mild sore throat, stuffy nose and headaches. It's generally OK to train lightly with these symptoms.

 

 

Below the neck symptoms are fever, chesty phlegmy cough, aching body and very sore throat, plus things like vomiting or diarrhoea. If you have these symptoms, it means the bug is still in your system so there's a risk of inflammation of the heart occurring, which is potentially deadly.

 

So not only is it unhelpful to train under these conditions, it can be downright dangerous.

 

Sports physician Sharron Flahive, the chief medical officer of the NSW Waratahs rugby team, says the worst thing you can do is 'yo-yo' your comeback.

 

"You feel fabulous, you go out and do too much, then the next day you feel terrible again," Flahive says. "It's so frustrating when people yo-yo, they come back three weeks down the track and say they can't shake the 'flu.

 

"I tend to use the equation that for as long as you've been out, you should take that long to get back to the level you were training at before. If the 'flu keeps you in bed for one week and then you felt well, then it'll take you another week to come back at that level."

 

Flahive says advising athletes in this area is about their mentality as much as their physical issues. If you're used to spending a certain amount of time training each day then it's a good idea do something, but it might just be a brisk walk to start with.

 

"You might return at 60-75 per cent of your usual effort levels. If you normally do a 5km run, you might start with a 3km walk/run. Or you go on a brisk walk first and see how you feel and step it up from there. It's better at the end of it to be able to say you could've done a bit more."

 

Flahive says there could be a link between a premature return to training after illness and chronic fatigue syndrome.

 

"Anecdotally patients will talk about going back too early after illness and maybe that's why they developed chronic fatigue. I'm not sure how strong the science is on that, but it seems fairly logical."

 

Another red flag to be aware of when returning to training from illness is the heightened risk of past injuries reoccurring. Flahive says any absence from training, including holidays, carries the same risk.

 

"When you have an injury you go to the physio and do all the strengthening work on it," she says. "Often its recurrence is a consequence of muscle disuse. Any area where you've had an injury or a niggle would be more susceptible after a break in training."

 

So the post-illness message is: don't panic.

 

Use the enforced downtime wisely: do that yoga or stretch class at the gym that you never get around to doing in your usual state of wellness; revisit some of the physio exercises from a previous injury; get outside and move your body but finish the session feeling like you could have done more.

 

Increase the intensity gradually. Before long you'll forget you were ever sick.

 

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'We decided to share the news as soon as we could': Jill Duggar reveals why she and Derick Dillard announced their pregnancy at just eight weeks

 

Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard revealed their pregnancy at only eight weeks, and it turns out that the devout Christian couple had a reason for the early announcement.

 

'Understanding that the majority of miscarriages happen within the first trimester, and believing that every life is precious no matter how young, we decided to share our joyful news as soon as we could,' Jill told Page Six.

 

The 23-year-old 19 Kids and Counting star, who is due in March, added that they purposely kept their engagement short so as not to tempt themselves into being unchaste before the wedding..

 

She advised married couples-to-be via Us Magazine: ‘You may not wanna push the wedding date out too far, as those natural God-given desires with too much time between engagement and marriage can make it harder to remain pure.

 

 

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‘If you are financially ready, and things are in place (which should be at the time the question is popped), we believe an engagement should only be long enough to plan a wedding!’

 

For further support, the devout Christians turned to praying. ‘Once we knew we wanted to get married, we didn't want to put off the wedding for a long time and provide a stumbling block for ourselves,’ explained Jill.

 

‘We purposed to save ourselves physically for each other within marriage (even our first kiss for our wedding day!), so we had a short engagement period.’

 

Now that they are expecting however, the attention has turned to other issues – including morning sickness. 'They should call it "pregnancy sickness" because it's all day, but I'm feeling good today!' the expectant mom told ABC

 

'I'm thanking God for this little life and the good signs. It's well worth it,' she added.

 

Jill, who married Derick, 25, in June, says that she's also had her share of pregnancy cravings.

 

'[Like my mother, I crave] things that are more sour to settle the stomach: dill pickles, lemon with salt or lemon juice with water or salt. I like cold things [too]. I don't like a lot of hot meals right now but I do try to get protein every two hours,' she said.

 

Though her parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, famously gave a name beginning with 'J' to every one of their 19 offspring, Jill says she's unsure whether she and Derick will carry on the tradition.

 

'We're still pretty early right now but we’re thinking we may not do a letter theme. Maybe we'll do some other kind of theme!' she said.

 

She also revealed that she plans to use a midwife when the time comes.

 

'I feel like it will be way more relaxing... and having the baby at home with a midwife provides more of that personal care. It’s more intimate for the couple as well, getting to be in your own environment,' she said.

 

The couple married - and shared their first kiss - in front of more than 1,000 family members and friends at the Cross Church in Springdale, Arkansas, on June 21.

 

In August, they revealed to People magazine that they're expecting their first child.

 

'We got pregnant a little less than two weeks after we got married,' Jill said, adding that she and Derick 'want to leave it up to God' to see how many children they have - 'whether it's two or 20.'

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Watch out Harry, Pippa is in charge of your 30th! The party-planning Middleton will team up with 'Court Jester' Guy Pelly to stage a royal knees-up

 

Pippa Middleton was widely ridiculed for her party planning book Celebrate, yet she has been enlisted to help organise Prince Harry’s 30th birthday celebrations.

 

She has teamed up with Harry’s friend, the ‘Court Jester’ Guy Pelly, to arrange the bash, which will be held next week in the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s 22-room apartment at Kensington Palace.

 

Though Harry will inherit a £10 million share of his late mother Princess Diana’s fortune when he turns 30 on September 15, the party will be relatively austere.

 

Only 30 of his closest pals have been invited to the dinner, which will be held on Saturday, two days before his landmark anniversary.

 

‘Beef Wellington and Eton Mess are on the menu,’ one of the expected guests tells me. Harry, like Prince William, was educated at Eton.

 

After dinner, more guests will arrive for dancing in one of the apartment’s largest rooms, which is being transformed into a nightclub for the evening.

 

It was known as the art room when Harry’s great-aunt, Princess Margaret, lived in Apartment 1A.

 

Pelly, whose mother Lady Carolyn Herbert was one of Diana’s close friends, runs the louche Tonteria nightclub in Sloane Square and previously worked at the Polynesia-themed Mahiki in Mayfair.

 

 

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Apartment 1A, which had been used as office space after Princess Margaret’s death, has been refurbished using £4 million of taxpayers’ money.

 

The bill, which includes the cost of William and Kate’s new kitchen and several bathrooms, soared by £3 million in the past year.

 

No doubt, Pippa will rely on some of the advice she dispensed in her cult 2012 book, which featured such gems as ‘don’t forget party bags’, ‘ice goes well with drinks’ and ‘a well-wrapped gift helps express how much thought you’ve put into it — don’t forget to remove the price tag . . .’

 

Harry won’t be able to party too hard, though, because he is due to attend the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games at the Olympic Park the next day.

 

The Games, in which 400 competitors take part in sporting events for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, were the Prince’s brainchild.

 

Now all that is needed for Harry, who split up with aspiring actress Cressida Bonas in April, is a woman with whom he can smooch.

 

Sadly, Pippa, who is in a long-term relationship with investment manager Nico Jackson, is spoken for.

 

You do the maths, says Downton lass

 

While Downton Abbey actress Jessica Brown Findlay has been dealing with the fallout of a leaked nude videotape, her successor as love interest to chauffeur Tom Branson admits she’s been partaking in a more wholesome extra-curricular activity.

 

Despite finding fame on the ITV period drama, 29-year-old Daisy Lewis continues to work as a teacher in her spare time. ‘I’m tutoring maths, English and chemistry.

 

'I been tutoring a lovely family in Chelsea for years,’ Bryanston- educated Daisy tells me.

 

‘What’s so weird for me is walking into a house and the lady whose child I’m tutoring says: “I think it’s you on the front cover of the magazine.”

 

‘I just reply: “Um, yes, so if your child could prepare some algebra...” ’

 

Modfather's got such a model brood

 

The Modfather Paul Weller, 56, has seven children by four women, which can make life a bit complicated.

 

His two eldest, Natt, 26, and Leah, 23, by The Style Council backing singer Dee C Lee, have followed their parents into the music industry, while also pursuing careers on the catwalk.

 

The siblings were at the Scottish Fashion Awards this week after Leah and Paul modelled together in January for Daks’ anniversary campaign.

 

Natt is the same age as his father’s second wife, Hannah Andrews, who posed last summer in a semi-nude selfie while she was pregnant with The Jam’s former singer’s twins, John Paul and Bowie.

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