Training and coronavirus
While the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, you might be wondering what you should do for your own personal health.
There is a relationship between the intensity and duration of runs and immune function. Moderately intense workouts tend to strengthen the immune system. For most people, this means an hour run at a steady pace. Running 10 miles or more or running to exhaustion can actually temporarilyweaken the immune system. This impairment of immune function generally lasts only a few hours, although for some people, especially those with an already weakened immune system, it may take several days. What has been observed is that marathon runners are up to six times more likely to get the common cold after a race.
As you deplete your stores of glycogen, your immune system does not function as well as it normally does. That means in the hours following a half marathon or marathon, if you have been exposed to someone who has been sick with the flu or coronavirus, your bodies defenses are down.
Additionally, mental or physical stress—caused by running a marathon or a very hard workout—could slightly increase your chances of becoming ill.
Getting in 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to brisk activity can help your immune system keep viruses at bay.
The goal right now is to avoid crowds and gatherings of people indoors and outdoors until we know better about how the virus can spread.
The best plan for running right now is to go out and run with a healthy buddy or small group and enjoy the outdoors.
During a quarantine do some exercise wherever you are to keep healthy—doing bodyweight exercises or running on an at-home treadmill are great ways to do this.
Try to avoid long, intense runs right now until we get through all this and just to kind of keep things under control. Don’t overdo it. Be worried more about health than fitness.
However, that doesn’t mean you need to quit running or exercising altogether. There is a very strong connection between regular exercise and a strong immune system in the first place, so the long-term immune system benefits of running far outweigh any short-term concerns.
And do not forget to protect yourself by wearing a face mask and wash and disinfect your hands more often.
There is a relationship between the intensity and duration of runs and immune function. Moderately intense workouts tend to strengthen the immune system. For most people, this means an hour run at a steady pace. Running 10 miles or more or running to exhaustion can actually temporarilyweaken the immune system. This impairment of immune function generally lasts only a few hours, although for some people, especially those with an already weakened immune system, it may take several days. What has been observed is that marathon runners are up to six times more likely to get the common cold after a race.
As you deplete your stores of glycogen, your immune system does not function as well as it normally does. That means in the hours following a half marathon or marathon, if you have been exposed to someone who has been sick with the flu or coronavirus, your bodies defenses are down.
Additionally, mental or physical stress—caused by running a marathon or a very hard workout—could slightly increase your chances of becoming ill.
Getting in 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to brisk activity can help your immune system keep viruses at bay.
The goal right now is to avoid crowds and gatherings of people indoors and outdoors until we know better about how the virus can spread.
The best plan for running right now is to go out and run with a healthy buddy or small group and enjoy the outdoors.
During a quarantine do some exercise wherever you are to keep healthy—doing bodyweight exercises or running on an at-home treadmill are great ways to do this.
Try to avoid long, intense runs right now until we get through all this and just to kind of keep things under control. Don’t overdo it. Be worried more about health than fitness.
However, that doesn’t mean you need to quit running or exercising altogether. There is a very strong connection between regular exercise and a strong immune system in the first place, so the long-term immune system benefits of running far outweigh any short-term concerns.
And do not forget to protect yourself by wearing a face mask and wash and disinfect your hands more often.
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