The coach gave advice on safe and effective sports activities.

Irina Maltseva, coach of the Lapino Fitness Country Club, told Izvestia on March 26 about the most common causes of poor health during sports and gave practical advice on how to prevent them.

According to the expert, the main cause of malaise is dehydration and overheating. Thirst, dark urine, dry mouth, weakness and dizziness signal a lack of fluids. A practical guideline is to drink about 500-700 ml of water two to three hours before a workout. In the heat, it is better to exercise early in the morning or late in the evening and drink as needed.

"The second common reason is a sudden start without a warm—up. It is necessary to start with a light load of 5-10 minutes, gradually increasing the pace and weight by 10% per week," explained Maltseva.

Nutrition also plays a key role. Malnutrition causes weakness and a "wobbly" head. It is better to finish a full meal three to four hours before training, and a light snack 1-3 hours before. For short classes, additional nutrition is not required, for long—term classes, it is worth including 30-90 g of carbohydrates per hour.

The coach also noted that it is not worth training against the background of illness or lack of sleep. Alcohol impairs coordination and increases dehydration, and caffeine is acceptable in moderation (up to 400 mg per day) if there are no side effects.

Maltseva advises people with blood pressure problems to measure their performance before exercising. If you have high blood pressure or chest pain, shortness of breath, speech or vision problems, you should postpone intense exercise or call for help.

During classes, there are signals for which it is necessary to stop immediately: pain or pressure in the chest, palpitations, fainting, dizziness, pain in the jaw, arm or back, cold sweat, confusion.

"Do not exercise if you do not get enough sleep, are dehydrated, hungry, sick, after alcohol, under the influence of stimulants, or feel something unusual. This simple check is enough to reduce the risk of feeling unwell," concluded Maltseva.

On March 6, Ekaterina Demyanovskaya, an expert at the Hemotest laboratory, told Izvestia that returning to training after an infection was dangerous. According to her, the key risk factor is the impact of the virus on the myocardium. Influenza viruses, adenoviruses and other ARVI pathogens are tropic to cardiomyocytes, that is, they have the ability to infect heart cells. In the acute phase of the disease, the immune system attacks the virus, but after the main symptoms subside, the inflammatory process in the myocardium may persist or develop after a while. Intense physical activity at this time can lead to an overload of the myocardium, which can become critical in conditions of vulnerability of the heart muscle after infection.

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