Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò: got COVID for the first time this past week. tons of conflicting information on returning to exercise - some say wait as long as 2 weeks, others say as needed, few distinguish between lifting and more cardio demanding sports. anybody have a source they trust on these questions?

got COVID for the first time this past week. tons of conflicting information on returning to exercise - some say wait as long as 2 weeks, others say as needed, few distinguish between lifting and more cardio demanding sports. anybody have a source they trust on these questions?

this Journal of Science and Sports Med article is the best I've found so far: says essentially try 50% intensity for three days, then 75% for three days if that goes well, then normal intensity if that goes well pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35725689/

Return to exercise post-COVID-19 infection: A pragmatic approach in mid-2022 - PubMedpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Return to exercise post-COVID-19 infection: A pragmatic approach in mid-2022

also maybe bring your masks back out the surge is real and it was...not my favorite illness experience

Yeah it sucked. Second time for me (still positive). This time I didn’t get as sore from things like picking up heavy items, pull-ups, etc. But it was about a week before I could swim seriously without feeling like my heart was going to explode. Expect insane soreness at first.

Nb. Last time it was about a week before I could swim. This time… well I’m still a bit sick but turning wrenches anyways. I sliced off the end of my finger a couple of weeks ago so I couldn’t do high intensity Oly lifts right now even if I felt up to it. I bet snatches would leave me ungodly sore 😬

I’ve only had it once, back in 2022. Overall super mild, really no cough, fever, tiredness for most of it. Returned to swimming about 2wks after and hard sprinting absolutely made it feel like my heart was going to jump out, for like another 3-4mo.

No time to look for links, but I’ve been reading wait a long time- exertionn too soon leads to long covid.

Hope you feel better soon. Purely anecdotal 1st-p. experience was that after getting covid in March 2020 (b4 vaccines existed) it took a solid 6 months to get back to high-intensity running/hiking w/o getting winded. After 2nd case of covid, post-vac, I was full go 2 weeks later (at 33 and 34 y/o)

This tracks. First time was rough. Second less bad. Didn’t get long Covid like some colleagues. That must suck a lot 😕

I would just say listen to your body. Everyone is different. Try going for a walk. If that feels good, jog. If that feels good, run. If that feels good, you’re probably good to lift.

I know you asked for actual science and this isn’t that. But that’s what I did and it was good

same here - and sports after two weeks and preferrably, medical checks :(

Hope your recovery is short and steady!

Oh dear no--a sports journal is the wrong place to look on how to avoid Long COVID & in particular the ME/CFS form of LC. I'm too crashed today to get you primary source material, but next time @exceedhergrasp1.bsky.social is around she can point you in the right direction!

I used to have a good citation handy saying 6 weeks post infection (so starting from when you feel better, which may take a few weeks to begin with), but I've heard of plenty of people developing LC (the ME/CFS form) by doing a difficult hike, say, a few _months_ post infection.

Hopefully Jaime will have a link handy to the ME/CFS pacing guide, which doesn't give you a tidy timeline, but will tell you body sensations to look out for! I hope you're on the mend quickly! 🩵

I also have heard minimum 6 weeks in the ME/CFS community, though I don't have a source for that number. There was a great interview with Dr. Putrino yesterday on the Physics Girl LC & ME/CFS Livestream that gets into it possible mechanisms and importance of rest www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8HW...

Physics Girl LIVE with long Covidwww.youtube.com Dianna is Live streaming a day in her life as someone suffering from long COVID and ME/CFS. The purpose of the Livestream is to raise money and awareness for...

Oh yeah, Putrino is a great researcher to listen to on pacing/exercise/PEM these days. He didn't understand these topics when he first started working with LC patients long ago, but has been scrambling to catch up and is one of the more articulate researchers publicly speaking on it these days IMO

The gist is, we all have to listen to our bodies & back off if/when we feel worse. Your body isn't reading the literature and will have its own timetable! In addition, some folks will have ongoing issues w/activity. Click through my convo w/Katie starting here: bsky.app/profile/exce...

Pace, even as you're recovering! Don't leap back into activity too quickly. www.meaction.net/resource/pac...

Pacing and Management Guideswww.meaction.net Find #MEAction's original Pacing Guide and Pediatric Pacing and Management Guide for ME/CFS and Long COVID, with translations.

No no no that is WAY too fast!! Your body will be clearing Covid and repairing damage for weeks after infection; rest hard for at least three weeks and then go for 50% intensity every other day for two weeks and see if it tires you. Go from there. Stay away from your edge for 3 months and SLEEP...

for any post-exercise fatigue (no coffee / pushing through). And I say that as someone who had long covid in 2020, recovered w exercise after 8 months, and has had Covid since then w/out another bout of LC.

Thank you for finding actual research. I’ve seen so many claims on this and found so little clarity.

covid wrecked me when I got it. it was several weeks before I could walk a mile without it making me crash. I slowly built up walking and didn't even consider lifting or cardio until I was reliably able to walk 30-45 minutes without it knocking me back down in exhaustion.

Pay particular attention to that "if".

I've heard a month FYI, but the thing to remember is do less than you think because you can't unring the bell. There are people who felt fine after covid went out for like a modest run and developed long covid afterwards. Also a big thing is track your on fatigue. After I had covid I felt fine but

every day at like 6 pm I'd be SPENT even though all I had done was maybe go to the store and work. It's very not-American but do less is the best thing you can do (and also get a blood workup, looking especially for inflammatory markers)

The gym will be there later but if you do too much too soon you won't be able to use it.

Oh one other thing - IDK if you partake in alcohol, but I know this is a weird thing to say - if you do having a drink and seeing how it affects you is actually a clue into how recovered you are. there's a link to alcohol intolerance and long covid www.healthline.com/health/alcoh...

Alcohol Intolerance After COVID: Symptoms, Causes, Treatmentwww.healthline.com Alcohol intolerance is not a common side effect of long COVID, but people have reported it happening to them.

(also it says, "not common" but I've asked a lot of people after it happened to me and so many people have said oh shit I thought I was just getting over being sick, some people find that it lasts permanently for me it was transient)

Yep I believe that’s the mast cell activation syndrome connection. Alcohol = histamines.

What's funny is do have an allergic reaction to histamines, specifically to certain pollens in food. That's why I have OAS. When I did the allergy skin test (long before we knew anything about covid) nothing lit up but the histamine reaction. But I'm fine with alcohol and like parmesan.

anecdotally, i think this happened to me. Took me a *while* to the point where I'm at now in which a single drink doesn't completely throw off my sleep cycle. Still not sure if I'm fully recovered or not. Hopeful ... but don't want to test it too much.

One person I know had some 4-6 weeks of that post Covid. It was 2 months until they were finally back to baseline, and the actual Covid was so, so mild.

Like, if they weren’t testing for Covid bc they’d been exposed, they’d have thought it was just a mild sore throat over a weekend. That was the only Covid symptom during the “sick” period. Followed by weeks of exhaustion.

Can’t recall the source but when I got it I followed the advice of being a potato for 6 wks, which was deemed critical. My resting HR was still high on week 6, so I rested even more Seeing people coming down w/ long covid after pushing hard tells me being conservative here is a good approach.

Yeah, agreed. You really do just have to listen to yr body, tho I know that isn't a very satisfying answer. I also have to stress that there are people who will manage this v v well and still become chronically ill after an infection... that you can "do everything right" & still stay sick.

Yes. This is an area where I would listen to patients over whatever the doctors and even scientific journals are saying. They just don’t know what they don’t know on Long Covid. Rest seems to be really really important. And even if someone is feeling good, there is a lot of hidden damage to repair.

Yes there was a study on this, I’m looking for it

I have panic disorder and am a public health guy and am very risk-averse but my 💯 main goal with covid recovery was to minimize the risk of long covid and POTS as best I could. For me that meant taking two weeks off from exercise after the acute phase ended.

And even after that I pretty much only walked. Didn’t get back to jiujitsu for about 5-6 weeks.

Down to neurovascular persistence I’ve consistently seen 6 months rest from anything demanding to prevent long COVID.

This is on the longer end but as someone with post viral ME/CFS (1:1 with LC) I’d take it very seriously.

Yes. I would back off aerobic exercise for at least six weeks based on what I’ve read. The problem with crashes is you don’t know you’ve overdone it until you’ve overdone it, and you want to prevent overdoing it for awhile with Covid.

Yep. By the time you’ve crashed you’ve already traveled far into the red zone.

I live with ME/CFS which is most likely related to Long Covid. The word in my community is that you should do as little as possible for 6 weeks to mitigate the risk of getting LC/CFS. We call it "Radical Rest". Do only what is necessary and nothing more.

There aren't any reliable published sources on any of this yet, as studies are still under way and will take a long time. But if you can, do nothing, or as closed to nothing as possible. Post-viral illnesses (ME/CFS/LC) are no joke and will wreck your life. It's worth the 6 week sacrifice.

Amen to that as someone who’s recovering from one

Sending you all the best wishes bc I know how much it sucks.

Anecdotally from otherwise healthy, active people I know who got long COVID (including some to a debilitating degree, & a close friend who died of COVID-related organ damage)…go snail’s pace slow, when it comes to both physical exercise & mental activity. Even if the COVID is mild. Rest rest rest.

I think I was already summoned here, but there IS a difference between cardio vs strength training. I'd hold off on cardio longer. However, there are not hard and fast rules beyond backing off if/when you feel worse when you do it.