Return to Exercise After Covid-19: Which One is the Best Strategy?

Abstract

Coronavirus (Covid-19), which began in China as of 2019 and spread to almost all over the world in a short time; has shown that we need to plan our life with new strategies as well as changing our current lifestyle today. While we must implement new ways to prevent against Covid-19 and maintaining our healthy lives, we must also design new strategies for returning to sports and physical activities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to reveal the return strategies for professional and recreational athletes during the quarantine periods in light of evidences. In this regard, firstly we examined the existing literature regarding return strategies to sports. As a result, individual performance and personal hygiene conditions should be considered, and athletic performance should be preserved while keeping a physical distance from teammates and others. The use of masks in sports should be encouraged, but new techniques should be developed by investigating the effect on performance. Consequently, for healthy individuals, low to moderate intensity (not high-intensity) exercise may be beneficial and recommend. However, due to the risk of spreading (person-to-person or contaminated surfaces), exercise is recommended in special places with good ventilation and the use of personal types of equipment.