Is It Safe to Wear a Mask While Exercising?

Join us for this replay from the archives and learn more about oxygen intake and masks…

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a lot of talk about whether or not wearing a mask during exercise is a safe thing to do. Amy and Brian breakdown the studies and science behind wearing a mask and oxygen intake, and reveal why The Exercise Coach program makes wearing a mask a minor detail in the pursuit of fitness results.

• Covid has made wearing a mask much more common but a lot of people are wondering if it’s okay to wear a mask while exercising. At the beginning of the pandemic the Exercise Coach committed to following the various guidelines, and that includes requiring masks.
• Generally speaking, wearing a mask is not going to hamper your workout. A good example would be how athletes have been using altitude training masks to increase physical performance for years.
• They don’t strictly simulate being at a higher elevation, but they do increase the effectiveness of your lungs and breathing capacity.
• At ground level, we get all the oxygen we need to perform optimally. When we feel wiped out and exhausted from exercise, it’s not due to a lack of oxygen. Even with a surgical mask, you have more than enough oxygen.
• Studies have been completed that show there isn’t an impact on physical performance when wearing a surgical mask. They looked at the effect on blood pressure, heart rate during exercise, oxygen saturation, and carbon dioxide levels.
• If you have a chronic lung disease talk to your healthcare provider before performing exercise while wearing a mask. For healthy people, wearing a mask during exercise is not harmful.
• The Exercise Coach has seen thousands of clients over the past year and they are still getting results despite the mask. Many of the clients are actually surprised at how little impact a mask actually has.
• The fact that the program is brief and the studios are kept cool and well ventilated makes the workout experience quite enjoyable, even with a mask on.
• The workouts are still intense and effective, and since they emphasize the lowering portion of the training they net better results than traditional strength training while reducing the requirement for your body’s cardiorespiratory output to increase.
• Eccentric training produces more force and gets you more benefits. An emphasis on the lowering portion is an advanced training technique, yet it’s more comfortable.