Five Simple Ways to Boost Your Immune System During Self-Isolation

Fitness Expert Kym Niles gets your body ready to battle COVID-19 and prepared for a vaccine

April 27th, 2020 (Toronto,ON) –  With COVID-19 cases increasing in Ontario to more than 14, 400, people are looking for ways to protect themselves from the virus while in self-isolation. “One of the key ways to boost your immune system is through physical activity,” says Certified Personal Trainer Kym Niles. “Focused exercise such as targeted strength training or high-intensity interval training increases your body’s production of antibodies and T-cells. This causes them to circulate more rapidly.” She also adds that regular exercise lowers your body’s stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which gives your immune system more strength. Another benefit is sweating – by raising your body temperature, it aids your body to kill pathogens. A recent study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that exercising at least 5 days per week reduces the risk of getting an upper respiratory infection by nearly 50% compared with being sedentary. The American College of Sports medicine recommends vigorous-intensity exercise to improve responses to vaccination. Here are Kym’s five exercise recommendations that you can do in self-isolation:

  • HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) timed workouts with as much repetition as possible

*squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, skipping

  • Brisk walk for 30 minutes to an hour or stairwell run for apartment dwellers

  • Bike ride for 30 minutes

  • Light jog or run for 30 minutes

  • Weights (or makeshift weights such canned food or water bottles)

The key is to get moving and work on your cardiovascular health and respiratory system. Kym can expand on these points and demonstrate the HIIT exercises with b-roll she can provide.

Kym is a vivacious leader, magnetic mentor and physical fitness guru. She worked in the fitness industry for nearly a decade, overseeing three Wynn Fitness locations with an average of 20 000 members. With a background in martial arts, she is a Certified Personal Trainer with CanFit Pro and numerous certifications in Agatsu Kettlebell, Yoga Fit, Bosu, Trigger Point and Muscle Testing. She was recently recognized as a BT Hero for her work with youth on Citytv’s Breakfast Television and has appeared on CP24, CTV News Channel, G98.7 FM and Breakfast Television giving her mental health and fitness advice. 

Web: www.kymniles.com IG: @kymniles   T: @I_CanandIwill FB: @kymniles1

Kym is available for television, radio, print, Facetime and Skype interviews.

Fennella Bruce