The Journey Back to Fitness: Overcoming Illness and Embracing Exercise

Returning to exercise after illness can be challenging, but it’s a crucial step toward reclaiming your health and energy. After several days of feeling sick and avoiding physical activity, the effects of inactivity became painfully apparent – stiffness in the body, aching muscles, and overall discomfort.

“I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised and that did not help me at all,” the fitness enthusiast explains. “Not exercising did not help me, but made my body to be stiff. I tried to stretch, even the back of my legs, my nails, my toes, everything pained me. Because of lack of exercise.”

The Importance of Pushing Through

The road to fitness requires determination and self-discipline. As the workout progresses, the message becomes clear: don’t let your body control you; instead, take control of your body.

“It is very hard to lose weight, but 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. Control your mouth.”

This philosophy extends beyond just exercise to overall health choices: “When you feel like eating something unhealthy, you say, ‘No, I will not eat that today. I will exercise.'”

The Comeback Journey

Day by day, progress becomes evident. The worst symptoms were experienced two days prior, with some improvement the day before. Now, energy levels are noticeably increasing.

“If it was yesterday, I cannot sustain this jogging for five minutes non-stop. If it was two days ago, that was the worst.”

The workout session demonstrates a gradual return to form, with consistent jogging and increasing energy levels. What begins with discomfort transforms into productive sweating and renewed vigor.

Starting Small, Thinking Big

An important lesson emerges about fitness at any level: you don’t need to be a professional or lift heavy weights to make progress.

“We need to exercise anyhow we can. We must not be professional. We must not lift 100 pounds. Just start by lifting 10 pounds. Five pounds. If you cannot lift 10 pounds, just little by little, we are going to be fine.”

Using a treadmill with various settings, the workout demonstrates how to adjust intensity based on current fitness level. While once capable of running at higher speeds (levels 7-9), current limitations mean staying at a more moderate pace.

“When I lose weight, I’ll start running at level 10. If I put it now, I will fall because of my weight. But I used to put up to seven before. I used to put up to nine.”

The Reward of Persistence

By the end of the 20-minute session, the transformation is evident. From feeling cold at the beginning to working up a good sweat, the body responds to the challenge with increased energy.

“I’m sweating now. I was cold before, but now I’m sweating. My energy level is coming back.”

The session concludes with nearly 200 calories burned and a powerful reminder that consistency and determination are key to regaining health after illness. Even a short workout can make a significant difference in how you feel and function.

This journey demonstrates that fitness isn’t always about intense, prolonged workouts – sometimes it’s about simply showing up, doing what you can, and gradually building back your strength and stamina day by day.