Fitness Post-Covid?

xojenbrassardxo

Hi All!

Unfortunately this past Monday our whole household came down with Covid. We are all fully vaccinated, however, my husband was very fatigued, our son had a 2 day fever, but I've felt it the worst. I had headaches, chills, fatigue and some pretty nasty breathlessness. I have luckily recovered from the headaches, chills and fatigue, but the breathlessness is still very much an issue. It's been so bad that I've been instructed by my Dr. to go straight to the hospital on Saturday if my breathing doesn't improve/

Luckily I woke up this morning feeling a bit better and can do more for longer without huffing and puffing and pain for hours afterward.

I know that I'm nowhere near ready to start exercising again, so for the time being I willbe focusing more on nutrition.

My question is: If any of you had covid where you had trouble breathing, are you still dealing with that? If not, how long did it take for yours to start getting better? How long did you wait to start exercising again? What type(s) of workouts did you do once you felt better enough?

Thanks in advance!

Mrsrobinsoncl

Thankfully I only felt bad for a day or two, diff breathing/fatigue, congestion.

Within 4 days I felt ok to start walking and within a week I was back to running, slower and less miles but working on building back up.

DancingMoosie

I had no trouble breathing, only headaches and felt congested without mucous. Just take it easy. No one can tell you how long it will last for you.

COGypsy

I had major fatigue, vertigo and a little breathlessness and it took about two months to get back to normal. That was back in November and I'm still dealing with vertigo, diminished smell, and a tendency to get run down much more quickly than I used to. Friends of mine have been better after a couple of days. It just lasts as long as it lasts.

westrich20940

So...I do not think* I've had covid...but I can talk about respiratory/fitness issues coming back from being sick.

~1 month ago the usual temp where I live was like 50s during the day, 30s/40s at night. Then BAM - one Wednesday it was 72 degrees. On that day (it was the only 'nice' day that week) I went for my long run which is 8miles. Felt bad doing it, but it ended up being a decent run for time/pace. Then I felt like I came down with a pretty bad sinus cold. My allergies were probably really triggered by that warm day and that combined with the fact that I hadn't started my typical seasonal allergy regimen yet, knocked me out. I took Thursday/Friday off and slept a lot. I'd say I didn't run at all for ~1 week. Then I tried to go for a run (knowing it would have to be short)...but my heart rate and breathing were terrible. I was able to run like 1/2 mile before I felt like I couldn't breath -- as if I'd been sprinting. So, I made it ~2 miles with walking before calling it quits. Then started wondering if I'd actually had Covid and not a sinus cold like I thought. Either way, gave myself a day rest -- was able to run a 5K. Still didn't feel good, it was really hard and I was out of breath. Then after another day of rest, I was able to run 4 miles....still hard. And the idea that just like 2 weeks before that I ran 8 miles, without feeling like I was gonna die was WILD.

THEN...I got strep throat. Fever and all that jazz. Didn't run for ~2 weeks again. My first run back I actually did at the gym...and I walked for 10 min, ran for 8, walked 10, ran 8....until I was done (did only 3 rounds of running). Then I was able to run 4 miles yesterday, even in the heat (~87 degrees). It still felt pretty hard.

All of that to say --- I think you will definitely have to take it slow and really adjust your expectations for what you can do comfortably as opposed to before being sick. I have found that I do feel like my respiratory stamina is coming back quick...but it's not like I can go do my normal long run anytime this week or even next probably.

AnnPT77

FWIW, there was a recommendation report written for coaches and such, about guidelines for return to exercise after Covid. It's intended to apply to recreational adult and junior athletes, not just professionals and elites. (There's a separate section on pre-adolescents, the body of the report is high school and above, I believe.) It's not written in a deeply technical way, should be understandable by us average folks.

FWIW, in case there might be some helpful nugget there:

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/covid-19-return-to-sport-or-strenuous-activity-following-infection

cwolfman13

It's going to be so variable from person to person that I don't think you're going to get any kind of concise answer...you're just going to have to see how you feel.

I had it in January along with my whole family. For myself, the worst of it was a bad head cold for about 2 days and then some fatigue that lasted a week. I let myself rest for a week and then got back on my bike...unfortunately any kind of strenuous cardio sent me into coughing fits and that lasted about 4 weeks and then I was fine. I spent most of those 4 weeks just walking and would periodically just test the waters on the bike to see where I was at.

My wife had a runny nose and scratchy throat for a couple of days and thought it was allergies. She only found out it was COVID after my youngest and I were sick and tested positive...she took a test and was also positive, but she was out running a 10K a few days later no problem.

My youngest was laid out with fever and the whole nine yards for a day...he was 100% fine 48 hours later and out jumping on the trampoline and riding his bike. My oldest had zero symptoms and thinks his positive test result was just a fluke.

You're just going to have to experiment.

xojenbrassardxo

Thank you so much everyone for all of your answers! I guess the general consensus is slow and steady. I'm going to rest for a few more days and then maybe try taking a walk around our complex and see how that goes. If that's too much, then I'll wait a couple more days and try again.