Returning to Exercise after Covid?

Has there been any change in the recommendations, or is it still 10-14 days after symptoms end before you do anything other than walking?

I have never heard that recommendation, why would you do nothing more than walking for two weeks after the end of symptoms?

Obviously take it easy to start with if you haven’t done any exercises for a long time but how badly covid affects you depends on the individual and the circumstances.

why would you do nothing more than walking for two weeks after the end of symptoms?

Because it’s pretty well established that Covid isn’t ‘just a cold’, and can cause various lingering effects on the body. In any event, it appears my recollection of the protocol was a bit out – it’s 7 days rest after the end of symptoms, then two weeks of light exercise. Link to the most recent NHS advice I can find is here…

I did a mini duathlon relay yesterday and I’m pretty sure I’ve got Covid from a flight eight days ago.

It was bloody horrible, I could proper taste blood in my lungs. So would not recommend that.

I’m fairly certain I had covid about two weeks ago until early last week – heavy cold symptoms with some weird gastro-ish stuff on the side and not much taste / smell. Was feeling largely better by the end of the week so I went down to Glentress for an easy ride to get some fresh air.

I was absolutely gubbed in my 52t even up the fire roads – legs barely worked after 15 minutes, felt dizzy periodically, and I was covered in weird cold sweat p***ing out my helmet. Managed one bottom-to-top before pulling the pin and retreating to the car for a rest before driving home. I definitely felt worse afterwards and like I’d have been better off just on a walk or something. 14 days does seem too long for my sanity, but I’d probably wait 3-4 days more at least.

It’s all very subjective to the individual though.

My first symptoms were 2 weeks ago. I had 5 days of hell, but I’ve been much better, no temperature, just an occasional cough since then. So I’ve been walking 10-12000 steps a day for a week. Yesterday I went for a 34 mile road ride trying to keep my heart rate sensible. I’m feeling ok. Today’s my first attempt at my 1hr workout/stretching session – it’s the stretches that are a struggle, everything has tightened up a lot. I think the thing is to be prepared to stop if you’re struggling, and don’t go absolutely flat out until you’re sure you’re over it.

It’s all very subjective to the individual though.

This.

I’ve never been badly affected by COVID (3 x now).

Tested positive last Monday. Gentle gravel ride last Thursday. Longer, but still gentle MTB XC ride Friday. Short easy run Saturday. Quick local MTB ride Sunday. Felt fine with all of these, but no hard efforts.

But others are more significantly affected over a longer period of time, so just go by what feels OK to you.

It’s all very subjective to the individual though.

I think so, and probably circumstances too. For me covid has never been worse than a very mild cold and it has never affected my lungs, touch wood. I could easily do quite strenuous stuff even when it was at its peak.

On the other hand I caught an UTI last Monday and until Friday this was me going to the loo :

I felt the most ill I have felt in years.

After five months of slow progress – I have got up to 10000 steps.  However there were some rather nasty complications this time around.  It’s a race between getting going again and catching the next dose.

When I had it recently I tried to give it a week before exercising properly but think I did some zone2 spinning on the turbo trainer a couple of days after and kept an eye on my heart rate in case anything weird happened.

I think its tricky to apply any set rules other than if you feel OK try some light exercise and see what happens.

If you have the time to gradually ramp up the intensity over a period of days then that is clearly preferable but both times I’ve had it, I had some major event planned literally ten days after which is not ideal really.

I’ve quite a lot of experience of helping athletes back out to their sport after a dose of Covid and I always try express it in much the same way…

Whilst it is certainly possible and even easy to return to exercise too soon and do yourself quite a bit of harm, conversely, it’s quite difficult to rest for too long.  Better to wait until you’re sure and return very gradually to normal exercise, testing yourself as you go and always with a Plan B for the day out, in case the wheels come off.

Examples I have seen have included delayed reactions, starting days later, that include some nasty pericarditis & cardiomyopathy, despite the initial infection having been mild and shrugged off readily.  You have been warned… !

we’re all different – i could cycle with covid but not swim (outdoors, away for people) due to weak lungs  but that just lasted a week.

Examples I have seen have included delayed reactions, starting days later, that include some nasty pericarditis & cardiomyopathy, despite the initial infection having been mild and shrugged off readily.  You have been warned… !

It’s really hard to know cause and effect here. After COVID in April 2020, I was hoovering the house on day 12-ish, and on one particularly stubborn rug I suddenly felt dreadful and needed to lie down.  And I’ve had debilitating fatigue ever since. My neighbour was a keen triathlete – he had COVID around the same time and was keen to get back to running, but was soon in hospital with myocarditis.  He’s still not right after four years –  he can get in the gym to do weights but can’t do cardio. But who knows whether either of these things would have just happened anyway? It seems unlikely that hoovering would have triggered a major chronic health issue. But I have not hoovered since, just to be on the safe side.

After five months of slow progress – I have got up to 10000 steps.  However there were some rather nasty complications this time around.  It’s a race between getting going again and catching the next dose.

I hear that!  After 2.5 years I could do the odd 10k day if I was on holiday and getting plenty of rest otherwise. Then I had another dose of COVID and haven’t been able to manage one since.  It’s tough…

But I have not hoovered since, just to be on the safe side.

Very wise. Though the dust must now be a bigger factor with respiratory problems.

Whilst it is certainly possible and even easy to return to exercise too soon and do yourself quite a bit of harm, conversely, it’s quite difficult to rest for too long.

This is good advice. Long term, too much rest just won’t do any harm.

(currently recovering from something else and as things clear up I’m still finding it too easy to thing “all’s fine again!” and go out at a bit higher effort when really I always need to go a bit slower than I think is ok).

I found Covid wasnt the issue it was the Pleurisy I developed afterwards then the AF, which means I am on medication (probably indefinitely) as a result….

For me covid has never been worse than a very mild cold

The symptoms might feel similar to cold but the severity of infection is not a reliable indicator for long term outcomes in Covid. A great many people with very mild and sometimes asymptomatic infections are suffering long term damage, often with the onset of symptoms in the weeks following.

If you delve into the emerging evidence around the damage it’s doing to people, it’s really quite worrying. It’s still something to be taken very seriously regardless of your age and current state of health.