2. 1. If you recently quit smoking and you`re wondering how to get your lungs back in shape, is by doing physical exercise every day, doing sauna as much as you can, leaving in an area not too polluted, and the main objective is to avoid passive smoking, by hanging with guys that smoke and inhale the smoke.. 1 year after smoking does it take for the lungs to recover. Smoking is the worst thing for lungs, so you should take best medication after quitting smoking. By taking fresh fruits and vegetables you can recover your lungs.