Why running could be your number one exercise during the COVID-19 isolation period?

Life as we know it has changed.  We are facing challenges that we have never had to face before.  I hope you are all staying safe and looking after yourself and each other.

A lot of things about the way we do day to day life have already and will continue to change, and we do not know how long we will have to live like this.  It is important to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle during this time, which will bring its own challenges. A lot of people have been uploading videos of workouts that you can do at home.  At this stage I’m not going to go down that path.  After some time in isolation maybe I will to break up the boredom.  You can check out my recommended daily exercise program here (I created it before it was cool)  Today I want to talk about running and why I think it should be your exercise of choice.

There are a few obvious factors that may affect your ability to run.  Countries around the world have implemented lockdowns that include going outside to exercise, but since Australia is not there at the moment I will write this as though going running outside is still an acceptable and safe option.  The main advantages of running is that it is non-contact.  It will need to be done by yourself (sorry for the social runners) but it can be done in a way that you don’t touch anything for the entire activity, therefore making it very low risk of catching or passing on the coronavirus.  You will need to make sure that you run from door to door and don’t stop to rest on a public park bench and definitely don’t stop for a drink at the public water fountain.  If you do happen to run past someone the chance of transmission is still very low because of the low amount of time spent in proximity (just don’t sneeze in anyone’s face).  It also has the benefit of being outside in the fresh air and sun.  The coronavirus does not survive outside as well as it survives inside.  Being outside in the fresh air and sunlight is also good for your immunity and mental health.  Exercise is also good for increasing circulation in your body which will help your body’s immune system.  Don’t go too hard though because fatigue is detrimental to your body’s immunity.  Other benefits of running are that it is cheap and doesn’t require any special equipment.

I don’t recommend just going out for a run if running is not a regular part of your training and exercise program.  Like most things you need to build up gradually.  You can start by walking for a minute and jogging for a minute, aiming to do a total of 15 minutes.  You can build this up to jogging for 2 minutes then walking for 1 and so on until you are jogging continuously for 15 minutes.  You also need to ensure that you are strengthening the correct muscles using targeted exercises.  This blog on knee pain has some good exercises that will be helpful.

Excelsior Sports Therapy is still offering Telehealth consultations during this period so if you would like to talk about a personal approach to running or any other concerns you might have you can book a consultation here.