Katrina Kaif inspires with post-Covid fitness routine; here’s what to keep in mind

“Back at it! Post-covid, I’ve had to be patient with myself in terms of getting back to exercise. You have to go at your own pace and listen to your body. You have good days and then days when you feel exhausted again. Going slow and trusting your body’s healing process and giving yourself time – step by step,” she captioned the post on Instagram.

 

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A post shared by Katrina Kaif (@katrinakaif)

Rhea Singh Anand, co-founder, Flexnest shares how to get going post-covid.

Resuming the exercise routine

One must note that in health and fitness, there is no one size that fits all. Each person’s recovery is different and depends on their body, immunity levels, the severity of the infection, and the various after-effects. This is the time to go slow and listen to your body. This is when you should relax and give your body the required time to heal and recover.

If you had mild symptoms, you can resume your fitness routine comparatively sooner than those who had a moderate to severe infection.

Anand shares a fitness regime after Covid recovery that will help you regain your immunity, physical strength, and health.

“However, the number one step is to consult your doctor before embarking on your post-recovery fitness journey,” she said.

The first four weeks after you have recovered are extremely crucial and it is advised that you take it slow. During this one month, you should focus on regaining your lung strength and oxygen uptake. To do so, practice basic breathing exercises like diaphragmic breathing, blowing balloons, or using spirometers. You should focus on regaining your flexibility and mobility and can indulge in light stretches. Additionally, you can also start walking at a comfortable pace for 10 minutes twice a day.

After one month, you can increase the intensity of walking and gradually increase the duration too. However, all this while, you should monitor your heart rate constantly and ensure it doesn’t go too high. This is the reason why indulging in HIIT workouts isn’t advisable and is a strict no-no. However, you could now practice yoga asanas and pilates using a yoga mat, foam roller, yoga blocks, and body bands in order to regain the lost strength and strengthen your muscles.

In the fourth to sixth week, you can include squats, lunges, planks, and modified push-ups in your routine. But this won’t be the right time to start high-intensity cardio or HIIT programs. You can, however, start introducing light weightlifting, including booty bands, and light dumbbells, and pick up pace eventually as per your convenience and doctor’s advice.

Post-six to eight weeks, constantly monitoring your heart rate is important. You can start with light weight lifting using shorter sets of weight training and then eventually increase the weight and the number of reps over the weeks as per your comfort. You can use products like adjustable dumbbells and kettlebells.

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