When Fitness Is Your Fuel

It’s safe to say that the only vacation most of us have taken this year is the bad trip COVID-19 has taken us through. To those still trying all kinds of mental gymnastics in attempts to keep up with their immunity system - let’s get moving, to talk about how much and how you should be moving right now! While I covered all the food bases in COVID recovery in my first blog, it’s now time to run the exercise mile – with expertise from Dinesh Borwankar, fitness instructor; and Sushma Sooda, Yoga instructor.

'Yoga'tta check this out:

Masks, face shields, and sanitisers can only do so much – could you tell us what patients in COVID recovery or even people who are in perfect health can do to strengthen themselves?

Depending on the level of severity, different activities can be incorporated into one’s routine. Breathing techniques like ‘proning’ will help those with levels under 85 SPO2, and for those at or closer to 90, non-intense activities like pranayama are helpful. If one has COVID, depending on the level of oxygen saturation, there’s a couple of precautionary measures to keep in mind – only gentle exercises such as light stretching and light breathing exercises are apt for them.

Yoga and other kinds of physical activities strengthen your immunity and especially your lungs, because they warm up your muscles without straining them and help you breathe comfortably. Sitting and standing for longer durations are some mobility improvements that result out of regular Yoga. Asanas like ‘Chakrasana’, ‘Bhujangasana’, ‘Dhanurasana’, and ‘Camel Pose’ help improve flexibility and build strength in the front body. Any movement will improve the body’s blood circulation and thus keep your immunity high, over time any and all bodily discomfort will disappear, too.

Most people have heard of Yoga and meditation, what can we tell them about Pranayamas, and which ones to take up?

I recommend Nadi Sodhana 'Alternate Nostril Breathing' and Bhramari Pranayama 'Humming Bee Breath' pranayamas, since these can be practiced by even those with various ailments or comorbidities as they have no contra-indications. They are universal and completely safe for everybody as they aren’t as strenuous, unlike other types of pranayamas. If one has no prior physical conditions, they can try the other variants prior to the ones suggested, to facilitate the clearing up of your sinuses and bronchi and thus, up your ability to stay in form.

Stress and anxiety come together as a set in a world terrorised by COVID and a fast-paced life, how does one go about combatting those?

Re-setting your nervous system is the one-stop solution. Counting-breathing techniques help with grounding and help shifting your awareness and mindset. Even closing one’s eyes to be able to name objects you can register via your senses – is a good grounding exercise. These are, of course, quick-fixes. Pranayama allows you to calm your body in the long-term. Slow breathing does wonders to cure most disorders the body suffers from.

What are some exercises that symptomatic COVID patients can do in a jiffy?

Basic joint mobilisation exercises like neck rotation, shoulder rotation, hip rotation and legs up the wall – increase blood circulation, without being too taxing on the patient’s energy. Breathing methods like slow breathing, inhaling/exhaling for upwards of 3 counts (to follow an increment of 1:2 ratio with more practice) will improve the functioning of the respiratory system, and yogic breathing will completely relax your body. These are some non-strenuous exercises that help the ill, recover well. They are simple but super effective practices.

'Train'ding tips from a fitness instructor:

How can you regain their strength post-COVID?

The best way to go about it is to start with body weight exercises. Generally speaking, do 8 reps (repetitions) for 3 sets because that has proven to be a great place to start any time after injury, a setback or an infection. This is a great set and rep module for when you get back to exercise, and this is applicable to anybody – right from an athlete to a layman.

· Start with exercises that are bilateral (which means using both legs or both hands and instead of single hand/leg exercises), during the first two weeks of recovery, because anything more than that will be too much for your lungs to take. So, start slow and then ease into doing unilateral exercises.

· A good threshold to have for bilateral exercises is anywhere between 15-20 reps for bodyweight. Once you’ve exhausted those reps, you can move into unilateral exercises like single leg squats or lunges, or single leg bridges.

If at all they do, how do workouts change for the COVID-recovered?

The biggest change is that you have to take it by the day. You can’t really set out a plan because you don’t know how good you will feel the next day in terms of muscle soreness, or any breathing issues, energy levels, or just a matter of ‘feeling up to it’.

· A three-day workout week seems more ideal considering those terms, with four days of recovery.

· The volume and intensity of the workouts should be kept at a moderate level.

From what I have seen that about 2-3 months is a good time period, if you’re being consistent – to get back to pre-COVID levels of strength. However, you also want to make note of the fact that with every infection your neurological system takes a hit. That again will need to be built up, and that’s also one of the reasons why your strength levels don’t go up too fast, because you’re again trying to load the neurological system with strength activities.

Can you tell us a little bit about muscle strength and muscle fatigue, and how covid affects it?

Generally, your strength levels are at a particular threshold when you’re training. People keep a log of what exercises they can do with how much load and the number of reps. Post COVID, this does reduce. The fatigue sets in very early in comparison to how it was before. You just try to build up to that threshold again. As I said, if you take it day by day, it’s a better approach because you won’t be winging it and you can go about it in your own way. Also, it is better to not get into any cardio conditioning activities like high intensity training or even running and cycling for the first 2-3 months because the muscle fatigue and lung fatigue is very high. In terms of muscle strength, take it at your own pace, see how you can reach your previous limit and then try to beat it.

How important is strength training post COVID, and how can it help people recover as opposed to someone who just takes their medicine but is sedentary?

There are a lot of benefits to it, but first of all, anytime you fall ill, your body’s strength levels drop, and especially after something like COVID, it goes down way below the basic level. Just by getting in some strength work, it can easily go back up. For men especially, the testosterone levels do go up once they restart strength training. Even blood flow improves. You begin to feel more active and stronger and that helps you get through the day better.

Being sedentary means taking no action but hoping for change (recovery in this case), but if you take action there are better chances of achieving that outcome. It’ll also keep you happier because you know you’re doing what you can to get healthier.

· Going out on walks and getting in a few stretches at home, and basically just any kind of physical activity will make you feel better.

· An exercise split of 10 minutes thrice a day is good; It doesn’t have to be a routine of 30 minutes at a stretch. Splitting your exercise time also help you look forward to activity planned through the day.

With all these tips and tricks, thanks a ton to Sushma Sooda and Dinesh Borwankar, I guess it’s time to get physical, if you know what I mean!

Get in touch with Sushma and Dinesh:

Sushma – https://yogawithsushmasooda.com/ and @sushma_sooda12 on Instagram

Dinesh – @dineshborwankar and @movementstrengthperformanceblr on Instagram

Written by Swaraa Aras and Vaishnavi Sarda

Designed by Shria Bellalcheroo