Returning to exercise after Covid

Prior to contracting Covid we were in the midst of the countries third national lockdown. Our group sessions were on hold so I had been keeping myself active with walking and a daily treadmill run followed by a short exercise session.  This came to an abrupt end when I started to display symptoms and I was surprised by how quickly the virus took hold.  Fast forward five weeks and I am only just considering returning to any planned physical activity. Daily chores alone have left me feeling exhausted and getting myself out for a walk in the garden has been as much as I could manage.  I have found it so strange that my body and mind are out of sync and my mind is now raring to go but my body is still screaming no.  I am however feeling an improvement most days and for that I am grateful.

So, what have I learned as part of this journey to be active again.  The most import thing of all... Listen to your body!  You can plan to be active but make sure you are protecting your health at the same time.

As fitness professionals when we work with clients who are starting physical activity for the first time we advise a check with the G.P. but this can be even more important when returning from Covid depending on the severity of the symptoms.  Guidelines are still being adjusted and amended as more is discovered about the virus and how it affects us.  There is such a vast array of symptoms and it is affecting people in a wide variety of ways from being asymptomatic to fatal.

I know from my own families experience of differing symptoms as one by one we tested positive.  My husband was really poorly and about to be placed on a ‘virtual ward’ when luckily he turned a corner yet my daughter, who didn’t display symptoms until 2 days after our isolation period ended, only had a slight temperature and loss of taste.

I had the standard fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of both taste and smell that are commonly associated with Covid but it wasn’t until I started to improve with the fever that the tightness in my chest increased and I developed an annoying cough.  The worst symptoms were my torso feeling as if I’d been in a boxing ring.  I honestly kept checking in the mirror as I expected to see bruises it felt so painful.  My hips and legs had the feeling of sciatica all over them and I can only assume this nervy pain was down to inflammation.  My only remaining symptoms now are fatigue and partial loss of taste and smell.  The tightness in my chest comes and goes but the annoying cough remains.

I’ve started walking again and plan to gradually intersperse this with running and see how I feel.  I will monitor my recovery and if I feel my exercise is having a negative impact I will stop and seek advice. You know yourself, if you’ve taken a break from physical activity or have been recovering from an injury that you can quickly lose muscle strength and it can take a while to get back to your previous level of fitness.  I honestly don’t know at this stage how long that will take me.  Those who know me will understand that times, distance and stats aren’t what motivate me it’s the how I feel doing a particular activity that keeps me going.
The overall recommendation seems to be - Take it slow, and gradually reintroduce physical activity to your routine…..and I will repeat what I said at the beginning -  Listen to your body!