2020 has been a hard year. So much has changed. So much has been lost. Lives, health (physical and mental), jobs, homes. I feel extremely lucky that I’m approaching the end of this year relatively unscathed. But my life has changed. I retired nearly three months ago but I’ll have to wait before I can reap the full benefits of such a life change. I’m unlikely to see family and friends during the Christmas festivities unless it is through a screen and the activities that usually make the darkest days of the year bearable need to be delayed for a few more months.

One constant that has been with me during 2020 has been exercise. The where and how may have changed as we navigated our way through lockdowns and tiers but the commitment never wavered. Although occasionally the motivation has had to have a good talking to.

I’ve blogged on numerous occasions on the benefit of exercise since I set up what is now ‘60 is the new 60’ back in in 2015. Particularly the benefits for older adults. And now as we hopefully approach an end to the pandemic I can add one more. One that I probably would have disregarded in those heady pre-Covid days. An improved vaccine response. But more about that later. So here, in no particular order are my five benefits of exercise in a pandemic.

Physical Health

Covid-19 is a nasty coronavirus. It is unpredictable. There is no way of knowing how it will affect you. And whilst death rates are relatively low the morbidity can be devastating. Heart and lung damage, blood clots, memory loss, depression. What we do know is that it affects those with underlying health conditions more severely. It is also not going away even with a vaccine. The virus will just become endemic in our communities.

But exercise is wonderfully placed to protect us as we navigate our way through the next few months and beyond. At a very basic level exercise may help flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways reducing the chance of getting a cold, flu, or worse. And in the long term exercise reduces our chances of developing disease including cancer, heart disease, diabetes to name just a few of those ‘underlying health conditions’.

I have actually increased my cardiac fitness over the last few months. If I had been told back in March that by the end of the year I’d be doing 70 burpees during one class I’d have questioned their sanity. But it happened. I hate burpees. But they are a great all round exercise. I’m taking the view that as long as I can do as many burpees as my age then I’m doing ok. So I’ve currently got a few in the bag.

Healthy Weight

Another risk factor of severe illness with Covid-19 is being overweight. And the risk grows the more overweight you are. So even losing a little weight will help. Although it has to be said that exercise on its own is not a very effective way to lose weight. Exercising will increase the ‘out’ calories but if you don’t manage the ‘in’ calories progress will be slow. Last year I successfully reduced my body fat to a healthy percentage by counting macros and upping the amount of cardio exercise I did. It worked. And for the first few months of the pandemic I maintained my gains but as it has continued my sweet tooth has upped its game. I’ve even started baking cakes. I’ve put on about 5kg (11 pounds in old money) although it would have been more if I wasn’t exercising. I’m still in a healthy BMI range but only just. I need to do something about it. 2021 seems a good place to start.

Healthy Mind

The pandemic has taken its toll on the mental health of even the most resilient of us. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve not lost anyone, not suffered financially or been ill. Even so I’ve experienced anxiety. But the one thing that I can count on to improve my mood is exercise. Particularly when it is out in nature. However, I sometimes need a bit of persuading. Getting out to exercise was so much easier in the early months of the pandemic. Spring was moving into Summer. It was getting warmer. Occasionally too warm. The parks were filled with people walking, running, cycling. Not so much now. It can sometimes be a struggle to tear myself away from the sofa. But it is worth the struggle. I feel wonderful after it. And those endorphins stay around for hours.

Healthy Immune Response

One of the biggest benefits of exercise when living through a pandemic is the effect it can have on our immune system. This is particularly important for older people as age brings a gradual deterioration of the immune system. A process known as immunosenescence. The good news is that exercise can slow down the deterioration by as much as 20 years. Of course a strong immune system won’t protect us from Covid-19 as it is a new virus. But hopefully it will protect you from any nasty secondary infection (pneumonia) that may follow. That is the killer.

Healthy Vaccine Response

A benefit of exercise that in normal times is a little remote but is now spot on is a more robust response to vaccination. Plus a reduction in vaccine reactions. A subject that seems to be generating a lot of social media discussion. The majority of studies compare the response rate to the flu vaccination but scientists expect the same findings for the Covid-19 shot. Only time will tell but it does give us a good reason to make exercise a New Years resolution as most of us won’t be getting the vaccine until Spring 2021 at the earliest.

2020 has been a year that has turned the world upside down. But there is now a glimmer of hope. In the meantime we need to keep ourselves and others safe. Exercise is a great way of doing just that.