Jordan and/or Austin,
Quick background - I’m 38yo, ~150lb (was 165 a month ago, I’ll get to it in a sec). ~6 weeks ago was squatting 315 for triples and PRed my deadlift at two doubles for 415.
About a month ago I began what was to become a fairly severe case of Covid - besides the fever and chills, I suffered multiple bilateral pulmonary embolisms and was hospitalized for a day. I was quickly discharged with a blood thinner regimen (Eliquis/apixaban 10mg BID for 7 days, then 5mg BID for the foreseeable future) and instructions to rest and only get back to more strenuous activity in a few months. I’m a biotech analyst in my day job and therefore have had access to some fairly renowned infectious disease and immunology researchers/docs. The consensus among these experts has been that, because a) Covid seems like a disease in which severity presents itself through a variety of different inflammatory cascades (platelet hyperactivation, thrombosis, myo- and peri-cardidtis in some cases, etc) and b) given anecdotal evidence of long-haul covid being exacerbated by a too-quick return to training/exercise, it behooves me to take at least a few months off of any strenuous physical activity.
All that is prelude to a simple question, which is, in the absence of lifting, is there anything I can do to maximize the retention of muscle mass? Yes, I’ve already lost 15lb from just 6 weeks ago. But going forward, what can I do?
Thank you in advance.