Immune system - strengthening through exercise

Who visites Sports are less likely to catch a cold. This shows how well you can train your immune system with regular exercise.

Exercise is good for the immune system - but the right dosage is important.

But on the other hand, sports doctors know that ambitious amateur athletes or professionals are particularly prone to infections. So it all depends on the right dose of exercise.

Over the last ten years, several long-term studies from the USA have shown how well exercise strengthens the immune system. For example, light endurance training (three times a week) halved the number of winter colds in women after the menopause. Women who only did gymnastics as a control group in the studies suffered from colds just as often.

How exercise strengthens your immune system:

• During exercise and in the subsequent regeneration phase, important immune cells (including T lymphocytes and killer cells) are particularly active.
• Blood flow in the lungs and airways is increased. This means that more immune cells reach these areas and directly fight invading cold viruses.
• When muscles are active, so-called myokines are released. These slow down harmful inflammatory reactions in the body.
• Exercise ensures good sleep. And during this rest phase, the immune system regenerates.
• Immune-boosting messenger substances (interleukins, cytokines) as well as antibodies against viruses and bacteria are produced in increased amounts.

Only moderate exercise strengthens your immune system

People who do light exercise regularly are less likely to catch colds than those who don't like exercise. But if you train too intensively, the effect can quickly turn into the opposite, and you weaken your immune system.

If you overtrain, your body breaks down immune proteins

But you shouldn't overdo it with endurance training. After very intensive exercise, the number of immune cells drops significantly. The body also reacts with an extensive inflammatory reaction. For example, after strenuous muscle work, the level of the inflammatory factor interleukin 6 increases by a hundredfold! Excessive training also causes too much immune-suppressing cortisol to be released.

In addition, there is the following effect: During long-term endurance performance, the body draws on its protein reserves and therefore also breaks down the antibodies of the immune system in order to obtain energy from them.

So that your body does not have to tap into the valuable immune proteins as an energy source, you should fill your carbohydrate stores well before a major sporting challenge.

You should not get out of breath while exercising

Moderate endurance exercise is ideal for strengthening the immune system. This means, for example, running 15 to 25 km per week. Your heart rate should not exceed 110 to 140 beats per minute.
It is best if you measure your individual heart rate in a Performance diagnostics with the lactate step test have it carried out.

If you have not yet had a performance diagnosis, you should at least follow the principle of "running without panting". This means: If you start panting during exercise and
If you can no longer carry on a conversation, the limit of immune-healthy sport has been exceeded. You then move from the aerobic to the so-called anaerobic zone.

This means that the body lacks oxygen, and under these conditions, lactic acid (lactate) is produced during muscle work. This inhibits the immune system - and a cold is inevitable.

How to properly train your immune system with exercise

• Ideally, you should do at least three to four training sessions per week.
• The intervals between the units should not exceed two to three days. Then the immune-boosting effect slowly builds up.
• However, as a beginner you should also use at least one day for regeneration. Otherwise you will quickly become overtrained and your immune system will weaken.
• Make sure you get enough sleep at night (at least seven hours). These phases are important for the regeneration of your muscles and your immune system.
• The training intensity should always be in the aerobic range ("run without panting"). You may also want to check this with a heart rate monitor.
• If the outside temperature is below +5 degrees Celsius, you should prefer indoor sports such as swimming or training in the gym. The cold air puts too much strain on the heart and lungs.

Health check also mandatory for recreational athletes

We recommend that amateur athletes follow the professional medical check-ups. Bundesliga players, for example, must undergo a complete health check complete.