There are 2 main schools of thought when it comes to training when sick:

• Take it easy, rest completely and let your body recover.
• Show up anyway and train.

When I was younger, I was in the first group. Whenever I got sick, I stopped training and focused only on recovery.

But as I got older, I began to change my approach. And for past 15–20 years, I have trained regardless of whether I had a cold, the flu or anything else.

I simply show up and put in a session, every single time.

And there are huge benefits both physical and psychological to continuing to train even when you're under the weather.

In this post I will share the protocol I follow whenever I'm sick, so you can apply the same mindset and approach.

Video Breakdown

Golden Rule: Intensity Must Drop Dramatically

The very first and most important principle is: You cannot train at normal intensity when you're sick.

• No heavy lifting
• No intense cardio sessions
• No max-effort anything

These should be completely removed from your training when you're sick.

Instead, shift your focus to three main things:

• Flow
• Movement
• Mobility

Your main goals become:

• Get blood flowing
• Stimulate the lymphatic system
• Raise your heart rate just enough to break sweat

Whenever I had the flu, I would often bundle up in lots of layers to help myself sweat more.

But the key is always the same: Bring intensity way down, usually to 15–30% of normal. Slow everything. Focus on quality movement, technique, and flow.

My Go-To Training Sessions When Sick

Here are the things I do (and that you can do too):

1. Light Shadow Boxing

• 20–30% speed and power
• Focus purely on technique: combinations, punches, footwork, head movement
• Flow. Smooth. Controlled.

2. Rope Drills

• Slow, deliberate footwork
• Moving in and out, head movement, angles
• Again: 20–30% intensity, perfect technique

3. Technical Bag Work

• No full power, no fast combos
• Focus on distance management, footwork, body mechanics
• Use it as an opportunity to fix mistakes you've been noticing

4. Jump Rope (excellent for lymphatic drainage)

• Very slow and methodical
• 30 seconds to 1 minute rounds
• Focus on rhythm and flow, not speed or intensity

5. Pure Mobility & Stretching

• Turn the whole session into 30–45 minutes of mobility work
• Deep stretches, full range of motion

6. Slow Ground-to-Stand Movements

• Bear crawls
• Turkish get-ups (very light)
• Any controlled movement down then up

7. Super Slow Burpees

• Break it into parts: slow sprawl to slow push-up  to stand up
• One rep can take 8–12 seconds
• Pure movement quality, blood flow, zero rush

8. Light Core Work

• Hanging knee/leg raises (slow and controlled)
• Leg lifts, sit-ups, crunches

The Real Benefits (Physical + Mental)

Physically

• Improved blood circulation
• Lymphatic system activation, flushing toxins
• Light sweating, helps to raise body temperature to fight the sickness
• Maintain training consistency

Psychologically

• You keep the habit of training
• You prove to yourself that you show up no matter how you feel
• Massive mental toughness benefit
• When everyone else skips the gym thinking "I'm sick, better rest," you train anyway

Even on the worst days, if all you can do is:

• Walk around the mat
• Do extremely slow shadow boxing
• Lightly move 5lb weights
• Or just do 20 minutes of mobility

That's enough.

You still showed up.
You still trained.
You still kept the consistency.

Final Thought

For the last 15–20+ years I've followed this simple rule:

I always show up. Always.

No matter if it's a cold, flu or anything else.

Intensity gets turned down but the habit stays intact.