The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on our health and wellbeing, and more research is being undertaken on immunity and vaccines than ever before. While the world is slowly being vaccinated against the virus, individuals are still looking for ways to boost their immune system and protect themselves further. With so many people spending increased amounts of time at home in the past year, there has been a concerning decrease in physical activity for many individuals. Here we’re going to look at the link between exercise and immunity so you can help protect yourself further this year with a more active lifestyle.

Exercise for Immunity Protection

We’ve all been taught from a young age that physical activity is one of the top ways to reduce your chance of experiencing chronic illness. A lack of exercise is listed as the top cause for five million premature deaths annually, according to research shared in The Lancet. Exercise works to strengthen your immune system, which can reduce your chance of becoming ill and struggling to recover from an infection or virus. During the recent pandemic, we’ve seen many individuals struggling with pneumonia and other illnesses at the same time as COVID-19. While research is still being conducted about COVID-19 itself, it’s clear that physical activity may help prevent you from catching a co-existing infection, which could lead to worse consequences.

The recommended amount of exercise for adults is thirty minutes, five days a week. Here at XCEL Fitness, we offer a wide selection of training programs and daily classes, which can fit around even the busiest of schedules. It’s predicted that the chance of falling ill and dying from an infectious disease drops by 37% when a regular exercise routine is added to an individual’s life. While we all live busy lives today, just a small amount of exercise five days a week could really make a huge difference to your quality of life in the future.

Increasing the Effectiveness of Vaccines

The introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine has brought hope of protecting citizens from this deadly illness. However, to protect yourself further, exercise can be the key to increasing your antibody count following the vaccine. In trials, a physically active individual is 50% more likely to show a higher antibody count when compared to someone who lives a more sedentary life. When taking a two-shot vaccine, this can help make the vaccination more effective between doses and offer a boost to your immune system.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly increased our interest in looking after our health and wellbeing, exercise is a way to combat any form of infectious disease or chronic illness. For individuals who aren’t currently following any form of exercise plan, the urgency of adding physical activity into your life is increasing. One of the main issues we notice here at XCEL Fitness is a preconceived idea of what kind of physical activity a person must do to reap these benefits. When you find a type of exercise you enjoy, you’ll be far more likely to return to your training regularly and notice the benefits of increasing your physical activity levels. Try out a selection of classes to find the one you enjoy most, and that you’ll want to return to each week.

Many people started exercising to cure boredom in lockdown, but it’s important to remember that exercise is for life and not just a sporadic activity to take part in. Following the reopening of the world this year, physical activity levels have started to decrease, which makes the population more likely to contract COVID-19 and other illnesses. When someone is physically active, they are less likely to struggle with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions, obesity, or diabetes. You’ll also find inflammation in your body decreases, reducing the chance of you contracting an infection. Exercise helps to boost your immune system and offers you a great chance of survival if you do contract a fatal infection.

At XCEL Fitness, we have the most advanced training facility in the Western United States, and there are hundreds of training programs and classes to choose from. Regardless of where you are currently on your fitness journey, we’ll help you add regular exercise into your daily life and boost your immune system to protect you from illness moving forward. For more information about how we can help you with increasing your physical activity levels, don’t hesitate to contact one of our team today for more information.