The Power of Persistence: Regaining Fitness After Illness
Recovery from illness is never easy, especially when it affects your physical fitness routine. After several days of feeling sick and avoiding exercise, the consequences of inactivity become painfully apparent—stiffness in muscles, aching joints, and general discomfort throughout the body.
“I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised and I did not do any good for my system. That did not help me at all,” the fitness enthusiast explains during a recent workout session. “Not exercising did not help me, but made my body to be stiff. I tried to stretch, even the back of my legs, my knees, my toes, everything pained me because of lack of exercise.”
Despite still experiencing symptoms—neck pain, headache, and nasal congestion—the determination to return to a fitness routine prevailed. This persistence exemplifies an important principle in maintaining a healthy lifestyle: consistency matters, even when circumstances aren’t ideal.
The Mental Challenge of Fitness
The journey back to fitness after a setback involves as much mental fortitude as physical effort. As the workout progressed, this mental challenge became apparent in the self-talk:
“It is very hard to dress nice, but very easy to gain weight. Very hard to lose weight, very easy to gain weight. All you need to do is to push your body. You force it. Not letting your body control you—you control your body.”
This philosophy extends to everyday choices: “Control your mouth. That’s why when you feel like eating something unhealthy, you say no. I will not eat today. I will exercise. Just go ahead.”
Starting Small, Building Consistency
The workout session demonstrated an important principle for anyone returning to exercise after illness or a long break: start within your current capabilities.
“We need to exercise anyhow we can. We must not be professional as well. You must not lift 100 pounds. Just start by lifting 10 pounds, 5 pounds. If you cannot lift 10 pounds, just little by little, we are going to be fine.”
Using a treadmill with various settings—including incline, speed, and calorie tracking—provided structure to the workout. The session revealed how fitness levels change over time: “I used to put up to seven. Before, I used to put up to nine. I can do up to seven. But not 10, not 11, not 12. 12 is the highest.”
The Reward of Persistence
By the end of the short 20-minute session, signs of progress were already visible: “My energy level is coming back.” The calorie counter approached 200, representing not just physical exertion but a victory over the inertia of illness.
The key takeaway from this fitness journey is that health enables achievement in all areas of life: “Your health is wealth. When you are in good health, you can achieve all. It’s only when you cannot do certain things that you cannot achieve your goals.”
For anyone struggling to maintain fitness through illness or other challenges, remember that small steps consistently taken will eventually lead back to your previous level of performance—and possibly beyond.