We’re now three months into the year and it’s likely our well-intentioned New Year’s Resolutions are well in the rearview mirror. This includes the yearly goal of exercising more and getting in shape.
But this year, like last year, there’s the additional obstacle of COVID-19, closing or restricting gyms and their ability to operate normally, and that’s on top of the stress of having to spend more time at home and isolating.
“When you tell people they have to quarantine and self-isolate, that’s creates a stress in and of itself,” says Andy Ray, PT, PhD, a physical therapist who works with lung cancer patients on pre-operative exercise interventions to help reduce post-operative complications. “If you add more stress on top of that, of losing a job, of course that’s going to add more stress. Physical activity might not be the top priority in your life. Self-isolation creates a stressful situation which inevitably ends up in a more sedentary lifestyle.”
That leads to a less healthy cycle of inactivity, which can make a person feel even more fatigued and sluggish, he says.
“For people who work out regularly, it takes a lot of work to build up that endurance and strength,” Dr. Ray says. “You can lose that endurance and strength so quickly. For example, in a 55-year-old man who becomes bedridden or sedentary for four weeks, they can lose up to 20% of what they gain through a workout. That can happen within weeks. That creates another cycle of, I’m fatigued, I don’t want to do anything. It’s easier to lay around and do nothing than to get up and move around.”
Dr. Ray offers some advice on how to get the heart pumping with a moderate level of exercise to break out of the cycle of sluggishness and get on the road to better health.