The Journey Back to Fitness: Overcoming Illness Through Exercise
Returning to exercise after illness can be challenging, but it’s often the most effective way to regain strength and well-being. This was demonstrated perfectly in a recent fitness session where the participant pushed through their recovery despite lingering symptoms.
“I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised and I did not do any good for my sister,” they explained at the beginning of their workout. “That did not help me at all. Not exercising did not help me, but made my body to be stiff.”
The consequences of inactivity were clear: stiffness in the legs, pain in the back, and general discomfort throughout the body. This highlights an important reality that many fitness experts emphasize – sometimes rest alone isn’t enough for recovery.
Pushing Through Discomfort
Despite still experiencing symptoms including headache and nasal congestion, the determination to return to movement prevailed. The session began with light jogging, a significant improvement from previous attempts where sustaining even five minutes of continuous movement had been impossible.
“It is very hard to dress nice, but very easy to gain weight. Very hard to lose weight, very easy to gain weight,” they observed during the workout, highlighting one of the fundamental challenges of fitness that many can relate to.
The Mental Game of Fitness
Perhaps the most valuable insight shared during this workout was about the psychological aspect of exercise and healthy living:
“All you need to do is to push your body. You force it. Not letting your body control you. Control your body. Control your mouth. When you feel like having a shawarma, you say, ‘No, I will not eat shawarma today. I will exercise instead.'”
This philosophy of self-discipline extends beyond just exercise to overall lifestyle choices. It’s about taking command rather than surrendering to immediate desires.
Accessible Fitness for Everyone
The session also emphasized that fitness doesn’t require professional-level intensity: “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, the participant demonstrated how to adjust intensity levels to match current fitness capabilities. While the machine could go up to speed level 12, they currently worked within their capacity at level 7, noting that before their illness they had reached level 9.
“When I lose weight, I’ll start running at level ten,” they shared, setting future goals while respecting current limitations.
The Reward of Persistence
By the end of the session, positive results were already evident: “I’m sweating now. I was cold before, but now I’m sweating… My energy level is coming back.”
This real-time transformation from feeling ill to feeling energized demonstrates why movement can be so crucial during recovery phases.
The journey back to fitness after illness isn’t about immediately returning to peak performance. It’s about consistent, manageable efforts that gradually rebuild strength and endurance while respecting the body’s current limitations.