Tips for returning to exercise after Covid-19
First of all Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by a coronavirus (= a type of inflammatory virus), that usually causes fever, tiredness, a cough, and changes to the senses of smell and taste, and can lead to breathing problems and severe illness in some people.
In your initial 7 days of isolation it's best to rest and reserve energy. Sleep plays a vital role in the reco
very process.
Resting cannot prevent long Covid all together. Some people who have rested have still developed long Covid. But resting and avoiding exercise may decrease your chance of developing long Covid.
After your isolation period, it's recommended by medical professionals to wait 7-10 days of being completely symptom-free before returning to any form of exercise. Regardless, if you've have had a mild or moderate bout of COVID-19 there is still a risk of developing a setback due to the stress that exercises place on the body.
Once symptom free, the key is to start off at a low level and slowly build from
that. Obviously each individual return to exercise is unique. Don't jump straight in to the same intensity as you did before Covid-19.
With return to exercise, you essentially need to pass through graded levels of intensity before moving on to the next phase which eventually leads to resumption of normal training. Passing a phase means you can do the activity and it feels ok/normal compared to prior Covid and it also feels ok the next day. Symptoms indicating not ready to move on to the next phase would be excessively high heart rate for the given activity, shortness of breath, significantly increase RPE or chest pain.
If you experience any of these it means you need to go back down to the prior phase and clearing that before trying to attempt the next phase. (the
phases are available on my previous posts)
As COVID-19 is an inflammatory illness, an anti-inflammatory diet is recommended
*the above information is for educational purposes only, and does not substitute individual professional medical advice, treatment, diagnosis or consultations with healthcare professionals.
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