Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

Ep. #580: Can Exercise Help Fight COVID-19? The Answer, According to Science


Listen Later

Over the past few weeks, you’ve been bombarded with contradictory, confusing, and complex facts and figures about COVID-19.

At this point, the story most often repeated in the media goes like this:

  1. Aside from social distancing, washing your hands, and (maybe) wearing a face mask, there’s nothing you can do to avoid getting COVID-19.
  2. If you do get COVID-19, there’s nothing you can do to hasten your recovery or reduce the severity of your symptoms except wait for your body to get rid of the virus.
  3. If you’re one of the unlucky few who develops severe symptoms like respiratory failure, the best doctors can do for you is put you on a ventilator, give you some drugs to ease your discomfort, and hope for the best.

While this story is more right than wrong based on the available evidence, it paints a grim, overly simplistic picture.

Here’s how Dr. Zhen Yan, the director of the Center for Skeletal Muscle Research at the University of Virginia’s Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center, puts it:

“All you hear now is either social distancing or ventilator, as if all we can do is either avoiding exposure or relying on a ventilator to survive if we get infected.”

Dr. Yan takes a more optimistic and, as you’ll see, evidence-based approach to the problem.

In a review study published by Dr. Yan and his colleague Hannah Spaulding at the University of Virginia, they explain how regular exercise can prevent or at least reduce the severity of one of the deadliest symptoms of COVID-19, a condition known asacute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS).

Scientists have known for quite some time that exercise improves immune function and reduces your risk of getting sick, but it’s rarely mentioned in discussions about COVID-19.

In this episode, you’ll learn how exercise may be particularly helpful for combating the symptoms of COVID-19, how much you should exercise to get the benefits, whether or not you can exercise too much, and more.

Let’s go!


Timestamps:


12:42 - How does exercise protect you from COVID-19?

13:53 - How does COVID-19 cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)?

15:46 - How does exercise reduce the severity of ARDS?

20:57 - How much cardio do I need to do to boost my body’s immune system?

22:46 - Does doing too much cardio and exercise impair my immune system?

---

Mentioned on the show:

Shop Legion Supplements Here:https://legionathletics.com/shop/

---


Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!

Click here: https://www.legionathletics.com/signup/

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Muscle for Life with Mike MatthewsBy Mike Matthews

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

4,537 ratings


More shows like Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

View all
Boundless Life by Ben Greenfield

Boundless Life

5,003 Listeners

The Model Health Show by Shawn Stevenson

The Model Health Show

7,263 Listeners

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth by Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, Justin Andrews, Doug Egge

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

12,055 Listeners

Muscle Science for Women by Ashleigh VanHouten & Rachel Gregory

Muscle Science for Women

470 Listeners

High Intensity Health with Mike Mutzel, MS by Mike Mutzel shares interviews with Peter Attia, Jason Fung, Stan Efferding,

High Intensity Health with Mike Mutzel, MS

1,224 Listeners

Choose Hard with Cody McBroom by Cody McBroom

Choose Hard with Cody McBroom

784 Listeners

Mark Bell's Power Project by Power Project Studios

Mark Bell's Power Project

1,561 Listeners

Optimal Protein Podcast with Vanessa Spina by Vanessa Spina

Optimal Protein Podcast with Vanessa Spina

782 Listeners

The Genius Life by Max Lugavere

The Genius Life

4,886 Listeners

The Jordan Syatt Podcast by Jordan Syatt

The Jordan Syatt Podcast

3,780 Listeners

The Peter Attia Drive by Peter Attia, MD

The Peter Attia Drive

8,522 Listeners

Muscle Intelligence by Ben Pakulski

Muscle Intelligence

16 Listeners

Huberman Lab by Scicomm Media

Huberman Lab

29,188 Listeners

The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show

1,200 Listeners

The Macro Hour by Nikkiey Stott

The Macro Hour

586 Listeners