How to ease into exercise without getting sick
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xxzenabxx
Posts: 935 Member
It seems that ever since I had Covid last year my body just doesn’t respond well to exercise. I’m also really sensitive to stress as I have some sort of adrenal issues too. I have PCOS too.
Anyway, I wanted to ask how can I ease back into lifting weights/exercise without getting sick. It seems that each time I do that I’m fine for a week or two and then I crash and lay in bed for a few days. I just want to feel strong and healthy again. At the moment I’m restricted to gentle Pilates but I want to do more than that!
My exercise/activity last week was:
3 lifting sessions (1 push/1 pull and 1 leg day) plus 8000 steps per day and another Pilates session. I genuinely don’t know where I went wrong but would love some feedback.
Anyway, I wanted to ask how can I ease back into lifting weights/exercise without getting sick. It seems that each time I do that I’m fine for a week or two and then I crash and lay in bed for a few days. I just want to feel strong and healthy again. At the moment I’m restricted to gentle Pilates but I want to do more than that!
My exercise/activity last week was:
3 lifting sessions (1 push/1 pull and 1 leg day) plus 8000 steps per day and another Pilates session. I genuinely don’t know where I went wrong but would love some feedback.
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Replies
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I think you probably need to work your way back up to regular exercise. I’ve had the same problems post COVID and just had to go slow. Instead of jumping right into a full schedule of weights and cardio, pick one and do that for a couple of weeks. So keep your Pilates, and maybe add the 8000 steps in and just do that for a while, and when that doesn’t wipe you out, maybe add a day of weights and keep it light. After a few weeks there, either add a day of light lifting OR add weight to your lifting. Post COVID recovery is no joke and if you try to fight it, you aren’t going to win.3
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I think you probably need to work your way back up to regular exercise. I’ve had the same problems post COVID and just had to go slow. Instead of jumping right into a full schedule of weights and cardio, pick one and do that for a couple of weeks. So keep your Pilates, and maybe add the 8000 steps in and just do that for a while, and when that doesn’t wipe you out, maybe add a day of weights and keep it light. After a few weeks there, either add a day of light lifting OR add weight to your lifting. Post COVID recovery is no joke and if you try to fight it, you aren’t going to win.
Thanks! Looks like I’ll be sticking to gentle Pilates for much longer then I thought. And yeah Covid has totally wiped me out!0 -
Cuando decidí tomarme en serio la pérdida de peso, me dijeron que no podía perder mucho peso porque mi presión arterial suele ser alta, y resulta que perder peso rápidamente supone un esfuerzo adicional para el organismo, especialmente para los riñones. Y si esto se refuerza más y los problemas con la presión, el cuerpo no puede soportar. Pero no me rendí. Encontré una salida a la situación, las cápsulas de Normaten. Sorprendentemente, me ayudaron rápidamente a normalizar mi presión arterial y a perder peso. Ahora he perdido 10 kg y mi presión arterial no me molesta en absoluto.
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Cuando decidí tomarme en serio la pérdida de peso, me dijeron que no podía perder mucho peso porque mi presión arterial suele ser alta, y resulta que perder peso rápidamente supone un esfuerzo adicional para el organismo, especialmente para los riñones. Y si esto se refuerza más y los problemas con la presión, el cuerpo no puede soportar. Pero no me rendí. Encontré una salida a la situación, las cápsulas de Normaten. Sorprendentemente, me ayudaron rápidamente a normalizar mi presión arterial y a perder peso. Ahora he perdido 10 kg y mi presión arterial no me molesta en absoluto.
I’m sorry I don’t understand
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Man, that really sucks!
I would work on endurance first. The level of effort is not as important as the time. Your activity could be whatever you like most or hate least: walking, cycling, stationary bike (spinning), exercise aerobics class (not too hard). Anything you can slowly work up to an hour or so.
Best of luck!2 -
I have no actual knowledge or experience to offer, but I serendipitously ran across this article today which would support your decision to focus on Pilates for now. https://apple.news/ATBOlpizFS5ufmHZYGoJDhg
In addition, I’ve seen many articles on recovering fitness after long COVID and they all point to resuming activity slower than many would prefer and that pushing yourself can be counterproductive (resulting in slower recovery overall). From what I’ve read, it seems that difficulty returning to prior levels of activity is not uncommon (you are not alone!), and that recovery is promoted by taking things slow (which must be so frustrating—I go crazy when I’m sidelined and not having a clear goal for return to “normal” would be difficult for me). Good luck!0 -
I had COVID last January and it took me awhile to get back to feeling like I could do whatever again. I'm not at the fitness level I was previously, but that is to a large extent by design as I decided I was done "training" and now just enjoying regular exercise on a much more recreational level.
I was pretty much down for the count for most of last January with COVID and then the major fatigue. I tried to rush back in late January into my offseason cycling training to get ready for an event I had scheduled for May and I was already behind on my training template. I just couldn't do it...I didn't have the endurance capacity or the wind. I knew I wasn't going to catch up on my training plan so I cancelled my event and decided to just start from scratch.
I spent about 4-5 months after COVID just doing a lot of walking and some light spinning here and there just to get my endurance back as well as my wind capacity and getting to the point where I was no longer fatigued from just going for a long walk or something. I started back to the weight room after about 4 months with a 3x week program but ramped on over the course of a month...ie the first week I went on Wednesday, the second and third week I went on Monday and Friday and then the fourth week I added the third day to make it Mon, Wed, and Fri...but yeah, it took a good month to ramp it up.
I'd say at this point I don't have any lingering issues that I'm acutely aware of, though I'm also "retired" from training and endurance events as of right now and primarily just recreationally active so I'm not putting myself through any kind of particularly difficult paces right now.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I had COVID last January and it took me awhile to get back to feeling like I could do whatever again. I'm not at the fitness level I was previously, but that is to a large extent by design as I decided I was done "training" and now just enjoying regular exercise on a much more recreational level.
I was pretty much down for the count for most of last January with COVID and then the major fatigue. I tried to rush back in late January into my offseason cycling training to get ready for an event I had scheduled for May and I was already behind on my training template. I just couldn't do it...I didn't have the endurance capacity or the wind. I knew I wasn't going to catch up on my training plan so I cancelled my event and decided to just start from scratch.
I spent about 4-5 months after COVID just doing a lot of walking and some light spinning here and there just to get my endurance back as well as my wind capacity and getting to the point where I was no longer fatigued from just going for a long walk or something. I started back to the weight room after about 4 months with a 3x week program but ramped on over the course of a month...ie the first week I went on Wednesday, the second and third week I went on Monday and Friday and then the fourth week I added the third day to make it Mon, Wed, and Fri...but yeah, it took a good month to ramp it up.
I'd say at this point I don't have any lingering issues that I'm acutely aware of, though I'm also "retired" from training and endurance events as of right now and primarily just recreationally active so I'm not putting myself through any kind of particularly difficult paces right now.
See that’s my issue…it’s been exactly one year and I don’t know how to reintroduce weights back into my routine. My body is loving Pilates and my core is stronger and my back pain has gone. Should I start off with just adding one lifting session per week? I think I’ve rested enough now which is why I’m confused as to how I feel so drained. Unless I’m just stuck with Pilates and yoga forever 🫤…
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I have no actual knowledge or experience to offer, but I serendipitously ran across this article today which would support your decision to focus on Pilates for now. https://apple.news/ATBOlpizFS5ufmHZYGoJDhg
In addition, I’ve seen many articles on recovering fitness after long COVID and they all point to resuming activity slower than many would prefer and that pushing yourself can be counterproductive (resulting in slower recovery overall). From what I’ve read, it seems that difficulty returning to prior levels of activity is not uncommon (you are not alone!), and that recovery is promoted by taking things slow (which must be so frustrating—I go crazy when I’m sidelined and not having a clear goal for return to “normal” would be difficult for me). Good luck!
Hmmm looks like I just have to stick with Pilates for now…0 -
See that’s my issue…it’s been exactly one year and I don’t know how to reintroduce weights back into my routine. My body is loving Pilates and my core is stronger and my back pain has gone. Should I start off with just adding one lifting session per week? I think I’ve rested enough now which is why I’m confused as to how I feel so drained. Unless I’m just stuck with Pilates and yoga forever 🫤…
Personally, I'm a big fan of a "ramp on" anytime there has been a long hiatus from the weight room. I've done it pretty much every time I've had a significant amount of time off. This helps with DOMs as well as fatigue, and in my case post COVID I really wanted to make sure I was managing any fatigue as I was adding it back after 4-5 months of just increasing my endurance capacity and I was feeling more or less normal and didn't want to "relapse" back into that fatigue.
It worked well for me, but like I said, I didn't go back to the weight room until I had spent a good 4-5 months just building back up some basic endurance and fitness. That 4-5 months started with just walking down to my mail box which is about a 1/4 mile round trip and I built up from there to where I could walk 3 miles easily everyday without any fatigue or other issues. I treated it almost like rehabbing an injury or like I was in physical therapy or something and just put in the work everyday and a little more the next, etc.
It was hard for me mentally because prior to COVID I was in really good shape and doing 1/2 century bike rides and whatnot, and post COVID felt a lot like starting from the very beginning of my fitness journey 12 years ago. I literally road a 1/4 century charity ride just a couple of months before I caught COVID and it was as easy as any normal day in my life for me and a couple of months later post COVID walking a 1/4 mile to the mail box and back was hard...but I knew if I didn't put in that "rehab" work and just keep plugging away that I wouldn't get anything back that I had before.
As far as lifting and "ramp on"...I typically do 3x week full body programs so my ramp on has usually looked something like this:
Week 1: Wed
Week 2: Mon, Fri
Week 3: Mon, Fri
Week 4: Mon, Wed, Fri or Mon, Wed, Sat if I need an extra recovery day after Wednesday.
So that the first 3 weeks I'm getting a good 3-4 days of recovery before adding my third day in week 4 and only getting one day recovery with two on the weekend.1 -
There's really no need for exercise to be strenuous.
Stick with what works for you and stick with it, over time you will build strength and endurance. Beyond that, don't worry about trying to make it hard.
I've been limited due to disability to just doing gentle clinical Pilates and PT for years now, and I'm in quite good shape and to look at me most people think I do hardcore exercise.
Don't underestimate the benefit of even gentle exercise when done consistently.
Listen to your body. If the point is to be healthy, then do what feels healthy. Harder isn't necessarily healthier. Respect your limits.3 -
Suggest, in addition to above suggestions, get some supplements that help with long-haul covid symptoms. I've known several long-haulers and their supplements have been extremely beneficial in their healing and well-being. Energy levels came right back. the "cement legs" went away. Out-of-breath disappeared. (Unless, of course, your doctors don't recommend them for other reasons.)0
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allaboutthecake wrote: »Suggest, in addition to above suggestions, get some supplements that help with long-haul covid symptoms. I've known several long-haulers and their supplements have been extremely beneficial in their healing and well-being. Energy levels came right back. the "cement legs" went away. Out-of-breath disappeared. (Unless, of course, your doctors don't recommend them for other reasons.)
What kind of supplements?
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There's really no need for exercise to be strenuous.
Stick with what works for you and stick with it, over time you will build strength and endurance. Beyond that, don't worry about trying to make it hard.
I've been limited due to disability to just doing gentle clinical Pilates and PT for years now, and I'm in quite good shape and to look at me most people think I do hardcore exercise.
Don't underestimate the benefit of even gentle exercise when done consistently.
Listen to your body. If the point is to be healthy, then do what feels healthy. Harder isn't necessarily healthier. Respect your limits.
Yeah I agree! Do you or anyone else know about a beginner weightlifting plan or workout? I’m thinking of using lighter weights and just 1-2 sessions per week until January.0 -
allaboutthecake wrote: »Suggest, in addition to above suggestions, get some supplements that help with long-haul covid symptoms. I've known several long-haulers and their supplements have been extremely beneficial in their healing and well-being. Energy levels came right back. the "cement legs" went away. Out-of-breath disappeared. (Unless, of course, your doctors don't recommend them for other reasons.)
What kind of supplements?
I didn't have any immediate changes like @allaboutthecake mentions, but I feel supplements have definitely improved some of my post-COVID symptoms. It's helped with brain fog; some with energy, but more that I don't get as tired doing anything at all; and it's definitely helped with dizziness and vertigo. I get fewer headaches, and the ones I get don't knock me out. It hasn't helped with taste, smell, depression, body aches, or neuropathy though. I wouldn't say it's been curative, but it's definitely improved my quality of life over the last year. The supplements I take for post-COVID are: vitamin C with added vitamins D and zinc; turmeric with black pepper extract, antihistamines; and fish oil with a specific ratio of EPA/DHA. It's not cheap or convenient, but there just hasn't been a lot of clinical evaluations of post-COVID treatment. I've tried just about every "hack" I've come across and these seem to be helpful to me.0 -
Cuando decidí tomarme en serio la pérdida de peso, me dijeron que no podía perder mucho peso porque mi presión arterial suele ser alta, y resulta que perder peso rápidamente supone un esfuerzo adicional para el organismo, especialmente para los riñones. Y si esto se refuerza más y los problemas con la presión, el cuerpo no puede soportar. Pero no me rendí. Encontré una salida a la situación, las cápsulas de Normaten. Sorprendentemente, me ayudaron rápidamente a normalizar mi presión arterial y a perder peso. Ahora he perdido 10 kg y mi presión arterial no me molesta en absoluto.
From my (very) limited Spanish, AnnF99 is suggesting that they too had trouble post COVID, notably with their blood pressure and heart rate rising when they tried to lift. They discovered a supplement called Normanten which, for them, helped quickly normalise their BP and heart rate to normal and they can now lift just fine.0 -
journey2ahealthierme wrote: »Cuando decidí tomarme en serio la pérdida de peso, me dijeron que no podía perder mucho peso porque mi presión arterial suele ser alta, y resulta que perder peso rápidamente supone un esfuerzo adicional para el organismo, especialmente para los riñones. Y si esto se refuerza más y los problemas con la presión, el cuerpo no puede soportar. Pero no me rendí. Encontré una salida a la situación, las cápsulas de Normaten. Sorprendentemente, me ayudaron rápidamente a normalizar mi presión arterial y a perder peso. Ahora he perdido 10 kg y mi presión arterial no me molesta en absoluto.
From my (very) limited Spanish, AnnF99 is suggesting that they too had trouble post COVID, notably with their blood pressure and heart rate rising when they tried to lift. They discovered a supplement called Normanten which, for them, helped quickly normalise their BP and heart rate to normal and they can now lift just fine.
Auw well thank you for the translation!
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allaboutthecake wrote: »Suggest, in addition to above suggestions, get some supplements that help with long-haul covid symptoms. I've known several long-haulers and their supplements have been extremely beneficial in their healing and well-being. Energy levels came right back. the "cement legs" went away. Out-of-breath disappeared. (Unless, of course, your doctors don't recommend them for other reasons.)
What kind of supplements?
I didn't have any immediate changes like @allaboutthecake mentions, but I feel supplements have definitely improved some of my post-COVID symptoms. It's helped with brain fog; some with energy, but more that I don't get as tired doing anything at all; and it's definitely helped with dizziness and vertigo. I get fewer headaches, and the ones I get don't knock me out. It hasn't helped with taste, smell, depression, body aches, or neuropathy though. I wouldn't say it's been curative, but it's definitely improved my quality of life over the last year. The supplements I take for post-COVID are: vitamin C with added vitamins D and zinc; turmeric with black pepper extract, antihistamines; and fish oil with a specific ratio of EPA/DHA. It's not cheap or convenient, but there just hasn't been a lot of clinical evaluations of post-COVID treatment. I've tried just about every "hack" I've come across and these seem to be helpful to me.
I agree! I started taking vitamin D and magnesium and they have helped me tremendously! Just need to ease into weights some how…want to feel strong again…0 -
I have a disorder called a mast cell activation disorder. Reason this is relevant is that a lot of the research right now is finding some correlation between what covid seems to be doing to folks (long covid, especially) and what my disorder does to me, in terms of how the mast cells start to react.
Basically, the mast cells are involved in a lot of bodily processes, including allergic reactions, heart rate changes, stress reactions, inflammatory responses...it's like a jack of all trade cell.
And when the mast cells start to misbehave, many times stressors that mast cells are used for normally can become triggers for them to freak out and behave abnormally (like, releasing too many of their contents into the body and causing problems).
One thing the mast cells are used in? Exercise and physical stress, especially if the heart rate increases.
So for people like myself, in order to exercise, we often have to start very slowly, and ramp up very slowly, as was suggested. But one of the things is that with my disorder, you do NOT push the envelope. The envelope is what stands between me and a reaction that will knock me back down again so I have to start all over from scratch. The trick with mast cell issues is to figure out what level is too much, and then stop BEFORE you hit that. When you are feeling fine and not overly tired or all that worked out.
Which is beyond frustrating honestly. And it's very individual. Some folks can do a fair amount before they start pushing too hard, and some can't. I got sick for long enough I had to start from scratch with just walking. I literally had to start walking 2 minutes a day, and increase by 1 minute every day. took me a month to be able to walk for 30 minutes. It was freaking torture.
But then I can walk quickly for 30 minutes finally, at least, rather than start reacting immediately with just a little movement.
I know covid is not the same disorder I have, but I have seen a lot of folks have some success with treating exercise with the same caution in terms of how stressed to allow the body to get before pausing. It's not everyone, but it might be worth trying, if nothing else helps, you know?2 -
There's really no need for exercise to be strenuous.
Stick with what works for you and stick with it, over time you will build strength and endurance. Beyond that, don't worry about trying to make it hard.
I've been limited due to disability to just doing gentle clinical Pilates and PT for years now, and I'm in quite good shape and to look at me most people think I do hardcore exercise.
Don't underestimate the benefit of even gentle exercise when done consistently.
Listen to your body. If the point is to be healthy, then do what feels healthy. Harder isn't necessarily healthier. Respect your limits.
Yeah I agree! Do you or anyone else know about a beginner weightlifting plan or workout? I’m thinking of using lighter weights and just 1-2 sessions per week until January.
Weight lifting is all about form, so you can follow any weight lifting plan and just use lighter weights.
Or you could just start with gentle body weight exercises.0
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