Currently, getting a COVID-19 vaccine is at the top of everybody’s minds. Therefore, it is normal for most of us to have questions about what to do before, during, and after the COVID-19 Vaccination. One of the questions is, “Can I Exercise After Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine”?
How your body responds after taking the COVID-19 vaccine is entirely individualized. While some may experience no symptoms, others may have. There will be a slight fever post-vaccination, if the fever persists consult your doctor or go to a hospital immediately.
Currently, there is no official guidance about the dos and don’ts of exercising around the time of COVID vaccination. While some studies on other vaccines show physical exercise done either before or after getting the shot may improve immune responses.
A 2013 meta-analysis published in the journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics found that exercising regularly can help boost immune system function.
Is It safe to exercise after the Covid-19 vaccine?
The short answer to this question is: Sure, in most cases, it’s totally OK to work out after your vaccine shot as long as you’re feeling well.
But some people have soreness at the injection site or do not feel well after vaccination, which may hinder their desire or ability to exercise. And there are a few more common vaccine side effects that might impact your exercise plans. So it’s best to be aware of those and how you can plan your physical activity around your vaccine to feel good as possible.
Therefore, experts advise that you resume any regular exercise one to two days after the first or the second dose of the vaccination when feeling back to normal.
While some evidence shows that people who maintain healthy lifestyles and exercise regularly seem to have enhanced responses to the vaccines. Their bodies create more antibodies compared to people who are not as healthy or in good shape. So, by having a healthy lifestyle and exercising regularly, you might boost your immune response to the vaccine.
If you feel any of the following symptoms, do not exercise, or stop exercising, and contact your healthcare professional:—
- Nausea or feeling sick
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Severe shortness of breath
- Clamminess or sweating
- Chest tightness
- Increased pain
Remember to obey physical distancing rules when exercising outdoors.
Importance of Physical Fitness and Execrise
The Importance of Physical Fitness and Exercise is enormous. Physical fitness is one of the core preconditions of health. We cannot imagine a person being healthy without being physically fit.
Being physically fit is important for all age groups. To live a better life to the fullest and enjoy all the opportunities, one tries to be physically fit.
Physical fitness is essential for each individual at all stages of life. To achieve fitness, various modes and methods are available.
The Importance of Physical fitness exercise is not limited to physical health, but it also helps to increase endurance and muscle strength, mental health, cardiovascular health, bone health, and overall well-being. Physical fitness training needs to be done routinely to get the benefits.
Physical activity help to improves:
- Fitness Level
- Reduce breathlessness
- Increase muscle strength and bone density
- Help to maintain and lose extra fat
- Reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease
- Improve balance and coordination
- Improve your thinking
- Reduce stress and depression
- Improve mood & Mental Health
- Increase confidence
- Improve your energy and many more.
Find a way to stay motivated with your exercises. Keeping track of your progress with a diary or exercise ‘app’ on your phone or watch may help. Take your time and set small goals.
Tips for exercising after covid vaccine that help you exercise safely:—
- Start slowly and introduce new activities gradually.
- Rest when you feel tired.
- Always warm-up before exercising, and cool down after exercising.
- Wear loose, comfortable clothing and supportive shoes.
- Wait at least an hour after a meal before exercising.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Avoid exercising in very hot weather.
- Exercise indoors at a comfortable temperature.
Best Workout Plan for Beginners after Covid-19 Vaccine
Warm-up exercises
Warming up prepares your body for exercise to prevent injury. Your warm-up should last around 5 minutes, and at the end, you should feel slightly breathless.
Warm-up exercises can be done in a sitting or a standing position. If you do your warm-up in standing, hold on to a stable surface for support if needed.
Repeat each movement 2-4 times. Few warmup exercises are mentioned below, add more as per your requirement and energy level.
- Shoulder Shrug
- Side bend
- Jumping Jack
- Arm Circles
- Leg swings (forward and side to side)
Fitness exercises
You should aim to do fitness exercise for 20-30 minutes. Try to exercise daily or a minimum of five days per week.
Some examples of different types of fitness exercises are mentioned below, but any activity that makes you feel moderate to almost severely breathless can be counted towards your fitness exercise.
Manage time for your fitness exercise and gradually build up the time which you can manage. This may be in a small increase, such as an additional 30 seconds or 1 minute of activity.
- Marching on the spot
- Step-ups
- Walking
- Stationary Cycling
- Jogging, Running and Cycling
Strengthening exercises
Strengthening exercises will helps to improve muscles. You should aim to do three sessions of strengthening exercise each week.
Strengthening exercises will not make you feel breathless as fitness exercises do. Instead, your muscles will feel like they have worked hard.
You should aim to complete up to 3 sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise. Taking a short rest in between each set.
Do not worry if you find these exercises hard. If you start with fewer numbers of repetitions in each set, gradually build it up to sets of 10.
As you get better with the exercises, use heavier weights to make your muscles work harder. You can use bottles of water as weights. You can add the following strengthening exercise to your workout regime.
- Chair squat or Body Weight Squat
- Wall Pushups or Body Weight Pushups
- Bicep Curl
- Tricep extension
- Shoulder press
- Shoulder lateral raise
- Heel raise
- Plank
- Supported Lunges
- Hip raise
Cool-Down Exercises
Cool-down exercises allow your body to return to normal before stopping the exercise.
Your cool-down exercise should last approximately 5 minutes, and your breathing should be back to normal by the end. Try working through all these suggestions, but if you cannot manage all the exercises or stretches, do the ones that you can.
- Walking at a slower pace or gently marching on the spot; for approximately 2 minutes.
- Repeat the warm-up exercises to move your joints; these can be done in a sitting or a standing position.
- Do Muscle stretches; stretching your muscles can help to reduce any soreness you may feel over the one to two days following exercise.
You can do these stretches in a sitting or a standing position. Each stretch should be performed gently and should hold for 15-20 seconds.
Takeaway
As for exercising after getting the vaccine, I recommend listening to your body. After you get your shot, you might find that it could be a good day to just rest or do something less strenuous like just taking a walk. Recovery is part of exercising, too. It’s not a bad thing to have a lighter workout day.
However, please check your health status with your doctor before starting any exercise regimen.
Stay Fit, Live a Happy and Healthy Life
Manish brings over 10 years of hands-on experience in weight lifting and fat loss to fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.
Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.