How to Return to Exercise After Having COVID
There’s no denying the fact that despite the effort, people are getting COVID. Which variant? Well, at the end of the day, does it really matter? Sure, some of the variants aren’t as severe, but it seems like regardless of the variant, it’s taking people out of the gym and onto their couch or bed for at least a few days. So, once you’re feeling a little better, how should you return to exercise after having COVID? Are there guidelines? Restrictions? What should you know?
In this article, we will look at how to return to exercise after having COVID so that you can get back to working out and go back to your normal training routine (maybe with a few stipulations).
Note: Regardless of what information and research are presented in this article, you should still speak with your doctor before jumping back into a workout program to ensure you are healthy enough to start exercising again.
Caution: Exercise After Having COVID
Inflammation is one of the effects that people suffer from when they get COVID. That being said, the inflammation can take its toll on the heart, which is commonly referred to as myocarditis. Clearly, any inflammation or issue connected to the heart is not something you want to brush to the side, especially when it comes to exercise and the demand it puts on the heart muscle to pump blood out to the working muscles and the increased heart rate that comes along with training with any sort of intensity.
Related Article: A Healthy Person’s Experience with COVID and What I Learned
Additionally, many people who had COVID could have developed pneumonia due to the virus directly attacking the lungs and respiratory system. Add that to the inflammation in the heart, and you don’t have the best poker hand at the table and shouldn’t try to bluff.
It doesn’t matter how old you are, what your fitness level was before getting COVID, or how “good” you feel, exercise after having COVID needs to be with extreme caution.
Research published in the HSS Journal has stated the following guidelines:
• Exercise should not resume if a patient with COVID has a persistent fever, dyspnea (breathlessness) at rest, cough, chest pain, or palpitations.
• Any COVID patient with an underlying cardiovascular or pulmonary condition should consult a physician before starting to exercise again, even if asymptomatic.
• An otherwise healthy patient with a self-limited course of COVID who has been asymptomatic for seven days may begin resuming physical activity at 50 percent of normal intensity and volume.
• Consultation with a physician is recommended if patients who have had COVID develop chest pain, fever, palpitations, or dyspnea on the resumption of exercise.
How Long Should You Wait Before Getting Back in the Gym?
Depending on the severity of your COVID experience, it can shift your timeline in terms of when you can return to exercise after having COVID. As you would imagine, the fact that the virus attacks the heart and lungs can cause some adverse effects if you go back to the gym too soon, as well as push yourself harder than you should.
But how long should you actually wait until you’re able to return to exercise after having COVID?
Note: The recommendation below is what has been presented through research. What is mentioned is not set in stone, and it may take you longer than the recommendation below until you can safely return to exercise after having COVID.
According to the BMJ, the current research recommends the following:
• Rest for at least 10 days after the first day you began showing COVID symptoms.
• Before going back to the gym to exercise after having COVID, you should be symptom-free for a minimum of 7 days.
• As a minimum, from the time you are experiencing symptoms until you can finally go back to working out is around 17 days (10 days from the start of symptoms and then an additional 7 days after you are showing no signs of symptoms).
• Rest for 7 days if you’re asymptomatic.
Click here to continue reading…
*Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links or ads, which means we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through these links. These commissions help support the operation and maintenance of our website, allowing us to continue producing free valuable content. Your support is genuinely appreciated, whether you choose to use our links or not. Thank you for being a part of our community and enjoying our content.
PLEASE CONSIDER SHARING THIS ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA TO HELP OTHERS LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS TOPIC. SIMPLY CLICK BELOW!
