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Getting back to exercise after any health setback is challenging. While you want to trust your body's signals, the temptation to jump back into your routine too soon is strong. However, rushing back before you're fully healed can cause more harm than good—this is particularly important when dealing with the lingering effects of COVID-19.
As noted by Michael Fredericson, MD in Everyday Health, “restarting exercise after a COVID-19 infection involves added risks due to potential complications, like myocarditis,” which is an inflammation of the heart muscle. Given the unpredictable nature of “long COVID,” extra care is essential.
Following a positive COVID test, it can be hard to distinguish between long COVID and a case of “regular” (albeit slow) COVID recovery. In addition to the physical toll, there’s the mental frustration of feeling as though your fitness progress is on hold. Below, we explore what we do and don’t know about long COVID, the latest recommendations for post-COVID athletes, and how to handle the emotional impact of fitness setbacks.
There’s still much to discover about long COVID
Whether you're a professional athlete or simply enjoy the occasional workout, no one wants to be stuck as a COVID “long hauler” with lingering symptoms. These extended complications include blood clots in the arteries and heart inflammation. Additionally, some athletes have reported ongoing fatigue and respiratory issues even after recovering from the virus.
Sadly, long COVID remains elusive and difficult to define, and more time is needed to study it comprehensively. Symptoms of long COVID can overlap with those of other conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome. For now, there are general recommendations for exercising with caution after COVID.
Guidelines for Resuming Exercise After Recovering from COVID
The following exercise guidelines were developed by a team of physicians from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. (One of the authors, Jordan Metzl, has also explained the reasoning behind these guidelines in the New York Times.) Some of the key recommendations include:
If you were in good health before contracting the virus and experienced only mild symptoms, you can consider resuming exercise once you’ve been symptom-free for a week.
However, expect to need roughly a month to gradually return to your full training routine.
If you have any heart or lung conditions, it’s important to check with a doctor before resuming your exercise regimen.
If any symptoms resurface, particularly chest pain, fever, palpitations, or breathing difficulties, stop exercising immediately and consult a healthcare professional.
In a previous feature on how to safely ease back into exercise after recovering from COVID-19, Mytour's senior health editor, Beth Skwarecki, shared expert insights on the process.
The advice is to gradually increase your exercise volume, beginning with only half of your usual activity (for instance, if you're a runner, start with half the distance you typically cover). While the guidelines don’t specify details for weight training, they refer to
a general set of non-COVID-specific principles
which also recommend a slow approach when returning to lifting, progressively building intensity over time.
These guidelines were crafted before the delta variant emerged, yet they remain applicable to cases involving various other variants, according to James N. Robinson, MD, a primary sports medicine doctor at HSS in New York City and co-author of the study.
Additional advice for athletes
In this summary of current recommendations for athletes aiming to safely return to physical activity post-COVID-19, experts have reached a consensus: exercise should be avoided for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, including a minimum of seven days free from symptoms. Once that period is completed, a gradual return to exercise may begin.
If you're seeking clear guidelines to help ease back into your routine, here are some recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine:
Ensure that you're able to perform daily tasks comfortably and walk 500 meters on level ground without undue fatigue or shortness of breath.
Your initial physical activity should be light, lasting no more than 15 minutes.
If your energy levels have returned to pre-COVID levels, you can gradually extend the duration of exercise, then reintroduce bodyweight exercises like yoga or resistance training, allowing adequate rest.
More intense resistance and sport-specific training can follow after that.
For the latest guidance on returning to exercise, visit this site for the most up-to-date research on resuming strenuous activity after recovering from COVID.
Managing prolonged symptoms
Everyone recovers from COVID-19 at their own pace, and there is no definitive method to predict when or how a person should return to physical activity.
Long haulers face the particular challenge of enduring symptoms that refuse to disappear. You may have heard the advice to “listen to your body” and “trust your instincts,” but what should you do when your body resists returning to its optimal state?
While we await further studies on managing long COVID, it can be helpful to treat your persistent symptoms, such as fatigue, as you would an obvious injury—like a broken ankle. You wouldn’t continue running on a broken ankle as if nothing was wrong; instead, you’d recognize the need for proper healing, which is essential for long-term recovery.
Similarly, “pushing through” COVID-19 symptoms won’t be beneficial. The general medical advice is to wait until all symptoms disappear, but I know that feels nearly impossible when they seem endless. If fatigue and headaches continue, treat your body with the same care and patience you would a broken ankle. Prioritize recovery now, so you can regain your full strength in the future.
