The Journey Back to Exercise After Illness: A Personal Recovery Story
Getting back into exercise after being sick can be a challenging journey. After several days of illness and inactivity, the body becomes stiff and uncooperative, making the return to fitness a true test of willpower.
“I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised and I did not do any good for my system,” shares a fitness enthusiast who recently experienced this struggle firsthand. “Not exercising did not help me at all, 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 Mental Battle of Returning to Exercise
The hardest part of returning to fitness isn’t always physical—it’s mental. As our fitness enthusiast points out, “It is very hard to lose weight, but very easy to gain weight. You need to push your body. You force it. Not letting your body control you.”
This sentiment echoes what many health experts advocate: taking control of your body rather than letting momentary discomfort dictate your actions. “Control your body. Control your mouth. That’s the way you feel like. It is your trauma. You say no. I will not eat today’s trauma. I will exercise. Just go ahead.”
Starting Small and Building Consistency
The key to returning to exercise after illness is starting with manageable goals. Our fitness enthusiast shares: “Your health is what you can’t achieve. It’s only when you cannot do certain things that you cannot achieve your goals. That is why we need to run. We need to exercise anyhow we can.”
The advice continues with an important reminder that you don’t need to be a professional athlete to benefit from exercise: “We must not be professional as well. There is no need to lift 100 pounds. Just start by lifting 10 pounds. Five pounds. So if you cannot lift 10 pounds, just little by little, we are going to be fine.”
Tracking Progress
Using fitness equipment with tracking capabilities can be motivating when returning to exercise. Features like calorie counters, step trackers, and speed monitors help gauge progress and provide tangible evidence of improvement.
Our fitness enthusiast mentions using a treadmill that displays calories burned, number of steps, distance, incline, and speed—all useful metrics for monitoring fitness recovery after illness.
Adapting to Your Current Fitness Level
An important aspect of returning to exercise is acknowledging your current capabilities rather than pushing for pre-illness performance. “When I lose weight I’ll start running at speed 10… But now I can do up to seven but not 10, not 11, not 12.”
This gradual approach prevents injury and allows the body to rebuild strength and endurance at a sustainable pace.
The Reward of Persistence
Despite feeling the fatigue, our fitness enthusiast continues pushing: “I’m getting tired, but I still want to see how far, how long I can go with the jogging.” This determination shows that recovery is not just about physical healing but also about rebuilding mental fortitude.
By the end of the workout session, the positive results are already evident: “My energy level is coming back.” This quick win serves as motivation to continue the fitness journey post-illness.
Conclusion
Returning to exercise after illness requires patience, determination, and a willingness to start small. By controlling the body rather than letting it control you, setting manageable goals, and tracking progress, anyone can successfully navigate the challenging path back to fitness. The key is consistency and persistence, even when the body initially resists.