The issues of strengthening immunity are faced by every person, regardless of his passion for sports. Our immunity is our only protector from the numerous viruses and microbes that surround us in this world. The comfort and duration of our life depends on its strength. It is believed that playing sports strengthens the immune system, makes a person less susceptible to the vagaries of the weather and various epidemics. But that’s not always the case.
Sports and immunity
Few people think about this, but sometimes sports not only do not strengthen, but also reduce immunity. And very seriously, practically making the body defenseless against infection. It weakens not only the immune system, but also numerous organs on which our well-being depends – the heart, stomach, intestines, liver. Alas, the influence of sports on our body is not as clear as it might seem at first glance. What is the reason for the decrease in immunity during sports?
Unnecessarily abrupt start of training, lack of a “retracting” stage. Sport strengthens immunity – you can’t argue with that. But only over time. At the first stage, if you go in for sports too sharply, immunity is inevitably weakened. The body is not yet ready for physical exertion, and not everyone will want to gradually “accustom” the body to them in the process of special training for beginners, most are in a hurry to change themselves quickly. As a result, the body receives serious stress and its immunity inevitably falls and the person falls ill.
Overtraining. A very common mistake made from an excess of desire and inexperience. The load given to the muscles exceeds the body’s ability to regenerate and inevitably hits its defense mechanisms. Loss of energy, chronic sleepiness, decreased mood, fatigue – all this can be signs of overtraining. And, as a result, a decrease in immunity.
Lack of complete nutrition. Human immunity is seriously dependent on vitamins, minerals and many trace elements entering the body. With their lack, even without physical exertion, immunity can decrease. And even when playing sports, and even more so “fail”. Therefore, if you play sports, you must definitely think about specialized sports nutrition and regular intake of vitamins.
Underestimation of weather conditions. carelessness, negligence clothes or just a desire to stand out sometimes push athletes to rash acts. Light clothing, not wearing a hat during the cool and cold seasons after a workout (when the body’s strength is exhausted in the gym) makes the possibility of catching a cold most likely. Even a completely healthy person, leaving the gym with a wet head on the street, can easily catch a cold and fall down with a temperature.
What is immunity
An athlete’s immunity is his ability to resist external aggressive nature. First of all, to bacteria and microbes that attack us every second. In a normal state, the immune system copes with these attacks without difficulty. But as soon as any stress occurs, it becomes more difficult for the body to cope with pressure on it. And stress can be anything – hypothermia, fatigue, lack of sleep, a nervous situation, etc. All this is stressful for the body. And of course, training is stressful. And the strength of immunity is manifested precisely in the ability not to weaken under the influence of stress. The stronger the stress he is able to overcome, the stronger the immunity.
The immunity of an athlete, as well as an ordinary person, is of two types. innate immunity. Which can not be changed in any way and is laid down by our genes. Therefore, someone from birth is sick less, and someone more. But there is also passive immunity, which is formed as a result of vaccinations, diseases and other events. It is because of passive immunity that children get sick less and less over the years.
Which one needs to be strengthened? It is obvious that neither one nor the other, the organism itself is responsible for them. A person needs to help the body to be more resistant to stress. How? Just like he trains muscles – train immunity.
Strengthening the athlete’s immunity
As it is not difficult to understand, muscle training and immunity have a lot in common. Both are based on the principle of artificially creating difficult situations, forcing the body to gradually increase its physical and immune conditions. For muscles, this is exercise. What will fulfill their role for immunity?
Firstly, hardening is very popular all over the world. It can be very different, according to different methods, but it comes down to one thing – a sharp drop in body temperature with the help of water and air. And gradually these temperature differences increase, become longer. Many are drenched in the morning, someone keeps their feet in cold water. Lots of techniques. You can start by visiting the sauna after a workout – pour cold water after it. Gradually increasing the number of visits to the sauna and dousing up to 2-3 and then adding another cold shower. A contrast shower in the morning will also be very good, which will quickly awaken all the internal organs of a person and set him up for an active day.
Secondly, aerobics. Aerobic exercise not only burns fat, strengthens the cardiovascular system, but also strengthens the immune system. There is one key point – you need to do aerobics in the fresh air. Classes in a stuffy gym with oxygen deficiency are more likely to give an extra load on the heart than strengthen your immunity. That is why outdoor sports are so important. Football, cycling, volleyball – whatever. Any physical activity in the fresh air will strengthen your immunity and health.
Thirdly, the normal mode of the day. Whatever they say, but the biological clock exists! And sleep from 9 pm to 6 am and from 3 am to 12 noon are very different things, despite the same duration. After the first one, you wake up refreshed and refreshed. After the second – exhausted and broken. Therefore, streamline your daily routine at least for the period of the beginning of training, when immunity gets the most, and for the autumn-spring period of various viral epidemics. Good rest is a very important element in strengthening the immune system.
Fourth, in your will to smoke and consume alcoholic beverages. But we must be aware that they seriously reduce immunity and are an obstacle to the growth of muscle tissue and strength indicators.
Fifth, malnutrition. The abundance of carcinogens in food, fatty and unhealthy food – all this also seriously affects many internal organs and immunity in general. If you go to the gym to tidy up your figure, then follow a weight loss nutrition program – this will achieve two goals at once – and strengthen your immune system and speed up weight loss.
Medical strengthening of immunity
In modern pharmaceuticals, there are many drugs aimed at strengthening the immune system. However, they are not what an athlete needs. These are rather medicines designed to either prevent the disease in the initial stages or help to cope with it as soon as possible. Immunostimulants, as a rule, increase the work of the endocrine glands to produce different substances. Interferon and others. But an athlete needs something different – to prepare his body for self-defense against infection. Among the sports nutrition there are also supplements that strengthen the immune system.
What will help us strengthen the athlete’s immunity:
Vitamin C. The best anti-catabolic and immune protector. But do not get carried away with them – it makes sense to take no more than 0.5 grams at a time, and 1-1.5 grams per day. And always after a meal, drinking at least a glass of water. Otherwise, you can bring your stomach to an ulcer. You don’t have to just drink it. Only as a preventive measure or if you feel unwell.
L-carnitine. An amino acid that has a beneficial effect on the entire body, promotes fat burning and strengthens the immune system. Safe and included in many fat burners.
Arginine. Also an amino acid, but unlike l-carnitine, it has a different effect – anabolic. Arginine is involved in nitrogen metabolism in the human body and performs many protective functions.
The rest of the supplements either do not affect the immune system or affect it slightly. In any case, your main weapon in strengthening your own immunity is the right health measures and healthy eating.
Summing up
Immunity for an athlete is not just a formality. This is the most important ingredient for success. Any illness or even a cold can set you back for many months. After all, it is necessary not only to recover, but also to restore the body after an illness. And in no case should you immediately give a load to an organism weakened by viruses or an infection (remember the exemptions from physical education at school?) If you do not want to plant your heart and other organs.
Therefore, by strengthening the protective functions of the body, you protect your results. In addition, all measures to strengthen immunity inevitably have a positive effect on muscle recovery and growth. The same hardening – significantly accelerate blood circulation throughout the body, which improves the supply of muscles with useful substances. Three components of good athlete health: nutrition, rest and competent training. And each of them is equally important.