:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-1343828522-6e93935ad12341ea987410b21c8675a0.jpg)
Listen to your body, and scale back your usual workout routine if needed.
Jenny McCoy is a freelance health and fitness journalist in Boulder, Colorado. Her work has appeared in SELF, Glamour, Women’s Health, and Outside. She is also an ASCA Level 2-certified swim coach. In her free time, she enjoys running, buying houseplants, and doing word puzzles.
Updated on October 13, 2023 Medically reviewed byIsabel Casimiro, MD, PhD, is an endocrinologist at the University of Chicago in Illinois. As a physician-scientist in molecular biology, she uses her research on diabetes, lipid disorders, cardiovascular function, and more to provide comprehensive care to her patients. Her research findings have been published in several scientific and medical journals, including Cell Metabolism and the Journal of the Endocrine Society. Dr. Casimiro also has extensive experience providing gender-affirming hormone therapy and improving education regarding transgender medicine for endocrinology fellows. Her work with transgender patients has been published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society and Transgender Health. Dr. Casimiro also serves on graduate and medical school program committees and is a clinical instructor at the University of Chicago. Dr. Casimiro received her PhD in biomedical research from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and her medical degree from the University of Washington. She completed her internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship through the Physician Scientist Development Program at the University of Chicago. She is board-certified in internal medicine.
You may wonder whether it's safe to exercise after getting a vaccine, such as one for COVID-19 or flu. The short answer: Yes, it's fine to exercise as long as you feel well enough. For example, COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccines may cause mild side effects, such as fever, headache, and pain at the injection site.
There are benefits and risks of post-vaccination exercise. Some evidence suggests that light-to-moderate exercise may boost your immune response after a vaccine. Still, side effects may hinder and lower the overall quality of your workout.
It's best to know the possible side effects of vaccination and how to plan your physical activity around your vaccine to feel as good as possible. Here's what you need to know about exercising after getting a vaccine.
It's generally safe to exercise after getting a vaccine. There's no evidence that exercising right before or right after the vaccine would impact a vaccine's effectiveness, Humberto Choi, MD, a pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic, told Health. Whether you feel well enough to exercise after getting a vaccine depends on what side effects you have.
"There's no stopping you from exercising after getting the vaccine if you can tolerate the side effects," Aditya Shah, MD, an infectious disease specialist and hospitalist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., told Health.
Vaccines, including the COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccines, may cause side effects like:
Those side effects might impact your ability to do daily activities, including working out, but that's not a bad thing. They are ultimately a sign that your immune system is responding to the vaccine, David Wyles, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Denver Health, told Health.
Over-the-counter (OTC) medications, such as Advil (ibuprofen), aspirin, or Tylenol (acetaminophen), can treat side effects. Taking one of those medications may help you feel better and up for a workout, said Dr. Wyles. Talk to a healthcare provider if you are unsure whether those medications are safe after getting a vaccine.
Getting a vaccine will probably not disrupt your workout routine. Some people have mild side effects that go away within a few days and do not interrupt their daily activities, including exercise.
Others may want to take a few days off from working out while they recover. As a rule of thumb, listen to your body, said Dr. Wyles. Take a rest day or two if you do not feel well enough to exercise post-vaccination. Forcing yourself to break a sweat when you're not feeling good is "counterproductive," Sivan Fagan, CPT, a strength and nutrition coach, told Health.
"You're not going to be able to perform your best," said Fagan.
There are minimal risks of exercising after a vaccine. It's impossible to predict how your body will respond to a vaccine.
Possible risks and side effects may include:
Younger adults typically have side effects more frequently than others, said Dr. Wyles. Some evidence suggests their immune systems react to COVID-19 vaccines more vigorously than older adults. The second dose of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines may also cause more intense side effects than the first.
It often takes weeks to develop immunity after getting a vaccine. For example, you are not "fully vaccinated" until two weeks after getting a COVID-19 vaccine, said Dr. Shah. Make sure to wait those two weeks if you have plans for an indoor, maskless workout at a facility requiring vaccination.
It's still essential to maintain basic public health precautions, like frequently washing your hands and staying home if you are sick, even if fully vaccinated, added Dr. Shah.
Avoid working out in public spaces if you develop COVID-19 or flu symptoms, such as:
COVID-19 vaccines do not infect you with the virus, but it's possible to contract COVID-19 near the time of your vaccination. Pause your workout plans and receive a test right away if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
You might opt for a gentle version of your standard workout, depending on the intensity and type of your side effects. For example, you can go for a long walk instead of a high-intensity workout if you feel a little sluggish. You might modify a full-body strength workout into a core and leg-focused routine if your arm is achy.
It's best not to make concrete workout plans since there's no way to know exactly how your body will respond to a vaccine. Instead, plan your workouts depending on how you feel after a vaccine.
Research has found that gentle upper body exercises may reduce pain and redness on the arm where you got the vaccine. For example, you might try doing some shoulder circles or presses.
Here's how to do shoulder circles:
Follow these steps to do shoulder presses:
Research has found that post-vaccination exercise may boost your immune response by increasing the number of antibodies your body produces. The evidence is conflicting, though, and some research has found that exercise does not benefit vaccine efficacy.
A study published in 2022 found that a single 90-minute session of light-to-moderate indoor cycling or outdoor walking and jogging upped antibody response within four weeks of COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccination. The researchers noted that exercise is an acute stressor that may boost your immune response before and after vaccination.
Physical activity also induces an inflammatory response. Inflammation may activate more antigen-presenting cells (APCs) than usual. ACPs are immune cells that help fight off infections.
It's OK to exercise after getting a vaccine if you feel up to it. Gentle upper body exercises may reduce pain and redness at the injection site. Some evidence even suggests that light-to-moderate cycling, jogging, or walking may actually boost your immune response to a vaccine.
Just let your body be your guide and scale things back as needed. Some people may need a day or two to recover from the side effects of a vaccine, such as fever, headache, and muscle pain.
The information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it's possible that some data have changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC, WHO, and their local public health department as resources.
Health.com uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
