Exercising to Keep Fit During COVID

"Keeping active indoors or outdoors through brisk walking, stair climbing, yard/housework and/or playing active games with the family can be just as effective [as formal training schedules]."
"What is important is that we avoid prolonged periods [over 60 minutes] of time sitting and try to implement even a few minutes of activity at regular intervals throughout the day."
Richard J.Simpson, Emmanuel Katsanis, immunology experts, University of Arizona

It just makes good common sense to understand that when someone with a lifetime habit of being active -- physically using their musculature rather than succumbing to a sedentary lifestyle -- practises the habit of healthy living. Not only does the muscular skeleton and the internal organs receive the kind of physical workout they were designed for, making for a healthier individual intent on seeing that body structure and internal organs don't languish and prematurely age, the process aids in boosting the body's immune system, making one less susceptible to infectious maladies.

Think of a virus such as SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses that deleteriously affect the upper-respiratory system. Well-exercised lungs that are challenged through physical exercise are better able to stave off serious infection. And a healthy heart is part of that raised immunity to forestalling the impact of a disease whose presence as a predator can result in heart failure linked to an impaired respiratory tract. Even the common cold is less likely to afflict people who exercise regularly and are more fit than their sedentary counterparts.

"The available scientific evidence from other viral infections would indicate that physically active people will have less severe symptoms, shorter recovery times, and may be less likely to infect others they come into contact with", the two authors, both immunobiologists from the University of Arizona, Tucson, write in an opinion piece published in the journal Brain, Behaviour and Immunity. As they emphasize remaining energetic throughout the COVID lockdown.


Any kind of workout, however modest, will have an improving effect on the capacity of the body to fight a virus; good results can be had from moderate to vigorous aerobic workouts of fewer than an hour's duration. Walking at any pace, strengthens the immune system. Exercise has a stress-reducing quality that is invaluable to the mental and physical state of anyone facing insecurity and concerns. Developing a habit of regular exercise boosts both mental and physical health.

Older people, thought of as being at the highest risk of COVID contagion, see exercise boosting immunity among the aged as well; committing to regular physical activity should be a general goal for anyone in any population. And it's good to know that dedicated exercisers need not increase their volume of exercise to realize the benefits of immunity against illness. Moderation, as in all things, appears to be key here.

Healthy food, exercise, sleep: likely provide some protection from COVID-19.

Bru-No via NeedPix.com

Combining a regular exercise routine with a healthy, nutritious diet is the optimum formula alongside a restful night's sleep of at least eight hours for most people. Plan on continuing daily brisk walks, even as the country relaxes the imposition of strict self-isolation guidelines. It will be months yet before experts feel confident the coronavirus threat can be reduced, for the most part if and when a vaccine against COVID-19 has been made widely available worldwide.