In a pandemic, staying fit and healthy is even more important. We look at the role fitness plays in fighting off Covid-19, from cardiovascular health to immunity.
Fitness is something that should be prioritised at all times. However, in a pandemic, staying fit and healthy is even more important both physically and mentally. That's why — even with the social distancing measures that have been put in place around the world — gyms, sports clubs, personal trainers and dance groups have so often strived to continue to offer their members services.
Of course, using the right sort of customer interface software to manage all the changes in messages that have been necessary during the crisis have helped professionals no end. Those who have learned about the power of client management software systems, especially ClubRight, will undoubtedly continue to benefit from them even once the public health emergency is finally behind us. That said, fitness has never been more crucial for fighting off Covid-19. What role does it have to play?
To begin with, no less an authority on public health than the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that remaining fit is a big part of tackling Covid-19. WHO's Be Active campaign centres on physical activities and all-round fitness with no particular stress on any aspect of training or endurance. Why? Because any amount of physical activity that people do during the crisis will necessarily be of benefit to them if they suffer from another condition.
After all, other than the elderly, it is people with multiple conditions who have contracted the virus — so-called co-morbidity — who have been at most risk from hospitalisation from it. The typical conditions WHO refers to are some cancers as well as things like type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease. In the main, these are the very conditions which will worsen with a sedentary lifestyle. Doing any sort of fitness work will help to lessen the severity of such conditions and even prevent them from taking hold in the first place.
Okay, medical professionals have always encouraged people with these sorts of conditions to do more exercise. The point about the Covid-19 pandemic is that it made doing so all the more essential. It can literally save the lives of people if it means that their respiratory system is under less strain and consequently more able to deal with the rigours of the disease.
That said, fitness among people who have — or may develop — certain co-morbidities is one thing. What about the rest of the population? Well, being fitter — especially when it comes to cardiovascular health — is known to have helped people with the virus to fight it off when they otherwise might have succumbed to it. Simply put, the better condition you and your clients' heart and lungs are in, the better off they will be if they catch the virus.
Even better than simply having fitter airways, people who are training and looking after their general fitness will often have more effective immune systems. This comes down to being physically active, yes, but also because this sort of lifestyle will often dovetail with an improvement in diet. Eating better and being fitter should both improve your auto-immune response, thereby helping you to naturally stave off Covid-19 until such a point when your own antibodies can be boosted by a vaccine.
