Every October, my phone lights up with the same text from a different client. “Woke up with a scratchy throat. Do I cancel?” Some of them want permission to skip. Most of them want permission not to — they’ve spent months building momentum, and the idea of losing three weeks to a cold feels like watching their progress evaporate. So my coaching team and I built a system for it, the same one I’ve refined over fifteen flu seasons: three lights, one thermometer, and a rule about coming back that saves more fitness than any workout ever will. Here is…
