07-22-2021, 09:38 PM
It's hazardous both to exercise while wearing a standard air-purifying respirator (e.g. N95) and to exercise in foul air without a respirator. I've been through many training programs for respirator use and we have been taught to always monitor the users for heat stress and respiratory stress resulting from overexertion. Also, nobody gets to use a respirator on a job site unless they have had a medical checkout for adequate lung function since all respirators restrict air flow. The only really safe respirator to exercise with would be a powered air-purifying respirator (i.e. one with a battery powered fan that blew air through the filter and into your breathing zone). The downside of these is that they are expensive and heavy. As was noted above, if the air is bad outside then your only safe option is to switch to exercising inside.