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Lesson 7: Reduce Baseline Inflammation by Exercising Just the Right Amount

Lesson 7 Protocol 2

  • objective(s)

  • action(s)

  • resources

  • references

Push through any resistance you may have about exercising consistently.

Lesson Summary

There are four important things to know about exercising to enhance proper immune regulation and decrease baseline inflammation:

  1. Regular exercise enhances immune regulation, but to decrease baseline inflammation, the right exercise intensity is critical. 
  2. High intensity exercise has been shown to produce stress and to release significant levels of Interleukin-6, a driver of substantial inflammatory pathology in Covid. 
  3. Your exercise is too intense if you feel uncomfortably sore the next day or are too tired to maintain your exercise schedule.
  4. Ensure that your exercise routine includes mobility, cardio and resistance training.

Reduce Baseline Inflammation By Exercising Just The Right Amount

Physical activity has long been known to be critical for proper function of virtually all physiological systems, including your immune system.

Regular exercise clearly enhances immune regulation. But, to decrease baseline inflammation, the right exercise intensity is important. If you do too little exercise at low intensity, there’s little to no impact on baseline, or systemic, inflammation. 

If you do too much exercise at high intensity, you can actually lower your resistance to infection and inhibit a regulated, balanced immune response. 

Many studies have shown a clear, inverse relationship between moderate exercise and risk of a wide variety of illnesses, including infectious diseases, like Covid. [1]

The image below shows the J-curve model of the relationship between the exercise workload continuum and risk for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI):

As the above graph shows, moderate exercise can reduce your risks for UTRI by 40 to 50% as compared to the normal risk of sedentary people. But exercise that requires “heavy exertion” can elevate that risk by two to six-fold. [2,3]

Prolonged, high intensity exercise has been shown to produce stress and to release significant levels of Interleukin-6, a driver of substantial inflammatory pathology in Covid. This means that too much high intensity exercise can increase the chances of driving various diseases for which inflammation is a primary cause.

The exercise sweet spot as far as immune regulation is concerned is in the middle -- not too much exercise intensity… not too little. Moderate levels are effective at lowering inflammatory markers while intense exercise does not. Until this pandemic is over, don’t push yourself to train for the next 50 mile race. The simple reason is that too much exercise can weaken our immune system and cause inflammation.

One way to judge if your exercise program is too intense is by how you feel the next day, and how long it takes to recover. If you feel very sore and are not fresh for the next scheduled exercise, consider easing up on the intensity.

To underscore the value of moderate exercise as compared to high intensity exercise, or no exercise, consider a review of studies about the impact of exercise on the immune system called The immunological case for staying active during the COVID-19 pandemic

This review tells us:

  • Moderate exercise is key to improving our immunity to viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and to the immune response to Covid-19 should we become infected.
  • Moderate exercise consists of 150 to 300 min of moderate to vigorous intensity cardiorespiratory physical activity per week, and two sessions per week of muscle strength training.


If you can’t or are unwilling to do anything else, just walk 15 to 30 minutes a day, preferably with some hills mixed in that will make you breathe hard, or at a pace that will do that.

Just walking 15-30 minutes a day at a vigorous pace makes a big difference in your immune function. It can upregulate many immune cells, such as T, B and natural killer cells, resulting in improved immune defense activity and metabolic health. [2]

Exercise Resources

An effective exercise program includes mobility, cardiovascular and resistance training. If you’re willing to do more than walk for your exercise, I have some excellent coaches to recommend you follow on Youtube:


Many exercises can be made easier to do if needed. You can do push-ups on your knees, or standing against a wall. You can do pull-ups with a resistance band to reduce the body weight you’re pulling. You can do partial squats until your legs get strong enough to lower yourself below parallel.

If you’re resistant to exercising regularly, my best advice to get started is to make it social. Call a buddy that exercises and ask to join him or her; or recruit someone who has been talking about the need to exercise, but needs a nudge -- you can be the nudge. Committing to meet up with someone one to exercise makes it more likely that you’ll stay consistent, because nobody wants to let down a friend.

Your Takeaway:

Remember these four things about exercising to enhance proper immune regulation and decrease baseline inflammation:

  1. Regular exercise enhances immune regulation, but to decrease baseline inflammation, the right exercise intensity is critical. 
  2. High intensity exercise has been shown to produce stress and to release significant levels of Interleukin-6, a driver of substantial inflammatory pathology in Covid. 
  3. Your exercise is too intense if you feel uncomfortably sore the next day or are too tired to maintain your exercise schedule.
  4. Ensure that your exercise routine includes mobility, cardio and resistance training.


If you'd like more information about how exercise and the immune system, check out References 4 - 6 under the Reference tab above.

This ends the lessons about lifestyle factors that reduce baseline inflammation. 

Next up is Lesson 8 where we take a look at an assortment of proven nutraceuticals that can help support your immune system.

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