Returning to exercise after Covid

It got me! After 2.5 years of managing to avoid the spikey little devil, a couple of weeks ago, I too had the pleasure of testing positive for Covid-19. While I was fortunate to experience only ‘mild’ symptoms (muscle aches, fatigue, fever and chills, a streaming nose and a sore throat) it’s certainly had an impact on my training, and this has led me to research some of the advice that’s out there for returning to exercise post-Covid. If you too are in this position and wondering how and when to get active again, read on.

When NOT to return to exercise after Covid

We’ll get this one out there up-front because it’s pretty important. Bupa advises the following:

Speak to a medical professional before attempting any physical activity if you:

• still have any ongoing symptoms of long COVID
• had moderate or severe infection that meant you were bedbound or admitted to hospital during your illness
• have a history of heart problems
• experienced any heart-related symptoms during coronavirus, such as chest pain, palpitations, severe breathlessness or fainting
• have a history of lung disease
• have lung-related symptoms from coronavirus that haven’t gone away or have gotten worse, such as a persistent cough or severe breathlessness

If you’re experiencing any of those, contact your GP before resuming exercise.

How long should I wait?

Imperial College London and Bupa both suggest waiting until you are 7 days clear of symptoms before resuming gentle exercise. Full disclosure - I did not do this, and tried a short run when I was more like 4 days clear. I didn’t experience any worrying side-effects but I definitely felt not at my best, and had a few little niggles from old injuries that under normal circumstances have long since ceased to be perceptible. So based on that experience, I’d certainly endorse the recommendation to rest up and give your body time to recover before placing demands upon it.

Where do I start?

Start gently and take it steady. Imperial College suggests beginning with breathing and mobility exercises, with an RPE (that’s Rate of Perceived Exertion, or how hard you feel you’re working) of no more than 6-8 on a 20 point scale. This is a great time to set up a yoga mat in a shady spot and begin to work out the kinks - if you’ve been sedentary for a while then you may find that you feel tighter and less flexible than normal, so take the time to address this. Yoga with Adriene has a great, gentle video called ‘Yoga for when you are sick’ - this or something like it would be a nice, gentle way to begin your recovery.