Do cardio exercise—at home or jogging (not gym for transmissibility reasons, as mentioned in this other answer.)
Why cardio, and why now? My thinking is: a primary reason for COVID hospitalization is not being able to get enough oxygen (cf this answer), and its primary treatment is with concentrated oxygen or (in more severe cases) mechanical ventilation, and the nightmare scenario is not having concentrated oxygen equipment etc. for the number of people who need it (I guess some appreciable fraction of the 20% of cases that require hospitalization). So it seems highly plausible to me that starting from a state of good cardiovascular health (hence high blood volume, high lung capacity, efficient heart pumping, etc.) would give the body some extra slack such that COVID can gunk up the lungs slightly more and for slightly longer, before you suffocate and die. This speculation is also compatible with the COVID death rates being apparently higher in populations that I would guess have generally worse cardiovascular health (in terms of age, pre-existing conditions, etc.). Again, to be clear, I have no proof of a causal connection, or even proof of correlation, just a vague suggestion and plausible-seeming mechanism (to my non-medically-knowledgeable mind).
By the way, my experience is that, after a long exercise hiatus, there’s clear improvement in “not feeling out of breath” over the course of even the first couple weeks of cardio exercise, so it’s not too late to get started. :)
In the worst case that it does nothing to help with COVID, hey, starting an exercise routine is still an awesome idea for mental health, longevity, etc. :)
(PS: Don’t overdo it, I hear overtraining is counterproductive.)
Do cardio exercise—at home or jogging (not gym for transmissibility reasons, as mentioned in this other answer.)
Why cardio, and why now? My thinking is: a primary reason for COVID hospitalization is not being able to get enough oxygen (cf this answer), and its primary treatment is with concentrated oxygen or (in more severe cases) mechanical ventilation, and the nightmare scenario is not having concentrated oxygen equipment etc. for the number of people who need it (I guess some appreciable fraction of the 20% of cases that require hospitalization). So it seems highly plausible to me that starting from a state of good cardiovascular health (hence high blood volume, high lung capacity, efficient heart pumping, etc.) would give the body some extra slack such that COVID can gunk up the lungs slightly more and for slightly longer, before you suffocate and die. This speculation is also compatible with the COVID death rates being apparently higher in populations that I would guess have generally worse cardiovascular health (in terms of age, pre-existing conditions, etc.). Again, to be clear, I have no proof of a causal connection, or even proof of correlation, just a vague suggestion and plausible-seeming mechanism (to my non-medically-knowledgeable mind).
By the way, my experience is that, after a long exercise hiatus, there’s clear improvement in “not feeling out of breath” over the course of even the first couple weeks of cardio exercise, so it’s not too late to get started. :)
Here’s my personal tips on (what I find to be) a practical and sustainable home cardio exercise routine, and injury-free jogging. Also see comments on this answer.
In the worst case that it does nothing to help with COVID, hey, starting an exercise routine is still an awesome idea for mental health, longevity, etc. :)
(PS: Don’t overdo it, I hear overtraining is counterproductive.)
Just saw this thread on a subreddit for medical professionals suggesting this could be a bad idea:
https://www.reddit.com/r/medicine/comments/fmvbtc/could_highintensity_exercise_increase_severity_of/