You love to be active outside, but when seasonal allergies hit, it is easier to hide in the house. While hiding in the house is one strategy, you don’t want to put on extra pounds because you are staying in the house. The challenges of seasonal allergies don’t have to keep you down. In this article, we are going to talk about four tips for managing seasonal allergies and exercise.
Exercising outside is a great way to motivate yourself to get moving. Inside exercise isn’t exciting and sometimes can be downright boring. If you are used to exercising outside, but allergies are affecting your performance, you are likely to be thinking about ways you can get your exercise in outside without going into sneezing and coughing fits. Let’s get into the tips below.
1. Ensure It Is Really Allergies
Before you start blaming allergies for your problems, make sure that is why you are experiencing the symptoms that you have. You can do this by going to your doctor, or you can do a couple of tests on your own. Try going outside during the highest pollen time and see if your symptoms flare up. Try this a couple of times so you can confirm that you are experiencing seasonal allergies. If you go outside and exercise and you don’t have any flare-ups you might have a common cold. Give your body a little time to recover and then you can get back to your outdoor workouts.
2. Medicate Before Things Get Worse
If you have confirmed that you have seasonal allergies and symptoms showing themselves, you don’t want to wait until they get worse to medicate. If you wait until things get worse to medicate, it may take a while for medication to help you get back to where you need to be. Depending on how bad your allergies are, you may have to go to the doctor to get a prescription, or you could use over the counter remedies. Make sure you are using the right dosage and taking the medication as recommended for the best results. Your body may respond to medication differently than you might expect so be careful when you are starting your exercises.
3. Avoid Wearing Shoes and Clothes Inside
After you’ve been to work, you want to take off your shoes and clothes that you wore to work. It is likely that you are going to have many allergens on your shoes and clothes from going outdoors. You probably don’t plan on washing your jacket or your shoes so make sure you have a place to put them near the door, so they don’t make it far into your living space. If these are your workout places, you should make sure you wash them since they are likely to have many allergens built up after heavy exercise and a long time outdoors.
4. Wear a Mask
When you are exercising outdoors during times that pollen is going wild, you should consider wearing a mask. While masks may not have been attractive or fun in the past, there are some cool looking masks you can wear when you are exercising so you can take your workout outside even when allergies are attacking. If you don’t want to wear a mask that makes a fashion statement, you can get a standard mask from just about any home improvement store.
5. Irrigate Your Nasal Passageway
If you are dealing with clogged nasal passageways, irrigating them is one of the best ways to give yourself relief. Being able to breathe while you are exercising is key and using nasal spray or a Neti pot are the easiest ways to do that. Irrigating your nasal passageway doesn’t sound like a fun process, and you are right. It isn’t pleasant to put the solution up your nose, but it does work. Keeping your nasal passageway cleaned out will make a world of difference throughout the day and the night. Getting a good night’s sleep can change the way you feel for the entire day.
Exercises You Can Do Inside
In case you’ve decided to avoid the outdoors as much as possible, here are some exercises you can do while indoors.
- Yoga is a relaxing but also challenging exercise that can be done just about anywhere. There are different levels of yoga so whether you are a beginner or you want a work out that is challenging and gives your muscles a good workout.
- Putting a punching bag in the house allows you to get a good workout anytime you want. Whether you want to box or kickbox, a good punching bag can keep you busy for hours.
- Stretching is underrated as a form of exercise and can be very helpful with muscle building. If you stretch your muscles in between workouts, you are more likely to build a better body.
Working out inside doesn’t have to be boring. There are plenty of workout videos, apps and other forms of activity that can be performed even in the smallest places with a limited amount of time.
Conclusion
Seasonal allergies decrease the quality of life for many people, but that doesn’t have to be you. When you use the tips above to cope with seasonal allergies, you don’t have to suffer unnecessarily. You can continue to enjoy your life, even throughout this trying season.
