How Soon Can You Exercise Again After a Bout of COVID-19?

Exercise when you have any kind of injury or illness demands restraint. Jumping back into your usual workout without giving your body time to heal can be counterproductive or, worse, lead to reinjury or relapse.

This is definitely the case with COVID-19.

“The ‘push and crash’ cycle is real: We see that as a pattern in people with COVID,” says Anita Chopra, MD, a primary care doctor who specializes in post-COVID rehabilitation at UW Medicine in Seattle. “If you put too much strain on your body too quickly by doing an extra hard workout or run, you may not end up doing anything for the next few days after that.”

The best approach to exercise during or after a bout of COVID-19 depends on many factors, including your overall fitness level, age, and the severity of your illness.

Eager to hit the gym? Keep reading for answers from specialists in sports medicine and infectious diseases on when and how to exercise safely when you’ve been hit by the coronavirus.

Is It Safe to Work Out While You Have COVID-19?

It’s never good to exercise when you’re sick, says James Borchers, MD, a sports medicine doctor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

“If you exercise while you have an active viral infection, that may cause the infection to get worse, which could lead to additional complications,” says Dr. Borchers.

Could Vigorous Exercise Help You Recover Faster From COVID-19?

Again, it’s not a good idea to exercise as you normally would during the acute (initial) phase of COVID. Research suggests that a bout of high-intensity exercise may suppress the immune system and make a COVID-19 infection more severe.

“Sometimes the most important part of healing is just to give it a little time. You can hurt your forward progress by working out too hard before your body’s ready for it,” says Dean Winslow, MD, a professor of medicine and an infectious-disease physician at Stanford Medicine in California.

Is It Okay to Go for a Walk While You Have COVID-19?

Light exercise such as walking is fine if your COVID-19 symptoms are mild and cold-like, according to Dr. Winslow. “There’s no evidence that this would be harmful,” he says.

Of course if you’re walking in a communal area you should steer well clear of other people or wear a face mask to avoid infecting anyone else. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that N95 masks and other so-called respirators approved by NIOSH (the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) are the most protective mask choice when worn consistently and properly.

If you have a fever or significant symptoms, you should probably put off anything beyond an easy stroll until you feel better, says Winslow.

What’s the Best Way to Resume Workouts After COVID-19?

Provided your symptoms have mostly disappeared and you don’t have a fever, it’s probably safe to return to exercise a week after a COVID-19 infection, says Winslow.

Because each person’s recovery and return to exercise is unique, you’ll have to monitor your progress closely and pay attention to any lingering symptoms when you do start to work out.

If you had a mild to moderate infection, once you have no symptoms or minimal symptoms (mild sore throat, runny nose, no fever), light exercise for 15 to 30 minutes at about 50 percent of your pre-COVID exercise intensity is considered safe, according to a study in the June 2022 Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.

After three days of sticking to that routine (provided that you continue to get better) you can push up to 75 percent of your normal workout effort for 30 minutes or more for three more days, according to the guidelines. If symptoms don’t return and you feel okay, at that point you can resume your normal pre-COVID workouts.

Can Exercise Help You Feel Better After a Bout of COVID-19?

Once you’re out of the acute phase of infection, research suggests resuming your workouts will make you feel better, says Winslow.

A meta-analysis published in September 2023 in Heliyon concluded that physical activity has a positive effect on promoting the recovery of physical function of people who had COVID-19 and “appears to help patients accelerate their journey toward physical health.”

Should You Check in With Your Doctor Before You Start Exercising Again?

If you had a mild to moderate COVID infection and were regularly exercising before you got sick, there’s no need to check in with your doctor before you begin your scaled-back workouts, according to the authors of the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport article.

If you don’t have a history of exercise, it’s always a good idea to consult with your doctor before making major changes in your activity level, says Winslow.

People with chronic heart or pulmonary conditions should certainly see their physician before they return to exercise, Winslow adds.

If You Had Severe COVID-19, Should You Wait Longer to Restart Your Workouts?

“The more severe your symptoms, the more you should prioritize rest and avoid exercise until you start to feel better,” says Dr. Chopra.

If you try to exercise and feel excessively tired, with especially sore muscles, your body is telling you that you’re trying to do too much too soon, she says.

If your COVID symptoms were more severe and affected your heart or lungs — or you’re not sure about the severity of your illness — you should check in with your doctor before you try to exercise, per UCLA Health.

The CDC says that a person with severe COVID-19 is more likely to be hospitalized, need intensive care, or require a ventilator to help them breathe. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) notes that healthcare professionals diagnose severe COVID-19 on the basis of signs such as respiratory rate and the amount of oxygen in the blood.

How Long Does It Take to Get Back to Your Normal Fitness Level After COVID?

There hasn’t been a lot of research in this area; how long it takes to regain a previous fitness level varies from person to person, Winslow says.

An online survey of 104 USA triathletes (their average age was 44, and 90 percent had no COVID-19 risk factors) found that nearly 40 percent reported returning to their normal fitness level in less than a month. Only 13 percent took longer than eight weeks to get back to their former routine.

Investigators found that respondents who experienced fever, shortness of breath, fatigue, and headache during their bout of COVID reported that their recovery took longer.

Can You Exercise if You Have Long COVID?

Experts are still debating whether it’s a good idea to exercise when you have long COVID (defined by the CDC as ongoing, new, or recurrent health problems that are experienced four or more weeks after an initial COVID-19 infection).

A review of 14 randomized clinical trials published in September 2023 in JAMA Network Open found that people with long COVID who participated in respiratory training and exercise-based rehab programs had improvements in workout duration, shortness of breath, and quality of life compared with those who received standard care and no exercise.

But because experts are still unclear about the impact of exercise on people with long COVID and there’s the potential for harm, the authors of the JAMA Network Open review urged doctors to closely monitor people in these types of programs.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) is currently studying exercise and long COVID, though patient advocate groups argue that the trial may put participants at risk.

If you have long COVID and want to exercise, it’s important to discuss your plans with your healthcare provider and closely monitor your symptoms.

Does Fitness Offer Protection Against COVID Complications?

There is evidence to suggest that working out regularly before you get COVID-19 may offer some protective benefits. A study of nearly 200,000 adults found that the more physical activity a person reported, the lower the risk of hospitalization or death within 90 days of COVID-19 diagnosis.

This trend was consistent across all activity levels, with “always-active” participants (150 minutes or more of exercise per week) facing the lowest risk.

More exercise was also linked to lower rates of hospitalization or death for patients with certain underlying chronic conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or obesity that are typically associated with an increased risk of poor COVID-19 outcomes, according to the authors.

Bottom Line: Allowing Time for Recovery From COVID-19 Can Go a Long Way

As an avid exerciser, Winslow understands the desire to jump back into physical activity ASAP, but allowing adequate time for rest and recovery could get you back in shape faster.

“Listen to your body — you don’t want to set yourself back by pursuing serious workouts prematurely,” Winslow says.