The Journey Back to Fitness: Overcoming Sickness Through Exercise

Recovery from illness often requires more than just rest. Sometimes, getting your body moving again is exactly what you need to regain your strength and vitality.

After feeling sick for several days with symptoms including headaches, nasal congestion, and overall body stiffness, one fitness enthusiast discovered that lack of exercise was making things worse, not better.

“I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised and that did not help me at all,” they shared. “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.”

Taking Control of Your Body

The road to fitness isn’t always easy, especially when trying to lose weight. As many fitness experts point out, gaining weight is relatively easy, but losing it requires discipline and determination.

“It is very hard to lose weight. Very easy to get weight. All you need to do is to push your body. You force it. Not letting your body control you. You control your body,” they emphasized.

This philosophy extends to dietary choices as well: “Control your mouth. That’s why when you feel like eating a snack, you say, ‘No, I will not eat today. I will exercise instead.’ Just go ahead. Control your mouth. Control your belly.”

Starting Small and Building Endurance

An important aspect of fitness is recognizing your current capabilities and working gradually to improve them. You don’t need to start with professional-level workouts to see benefits.

“We need to run, 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 start little by little, we are going to be fine.”

This gradual approach applies to cardio exercise as well. When using a treadmill, for instance, it’s important to select an appropriate speed setting based on your fitness level.

“The speed limit – like if you’re using three, you’re using two, you’re using five. Five is speed learning… When I lose weight, I’ll start running at 10. But if I put it now, I will fall because of my weight. I used to put up to seven before, I used to put up to nine. But now, I can do up to seven. Not 10, not 11, not 12. Twelve is the highest.”

The Importance of Health in Achieving Goals

Perhaps most importantly, maintaining good health is fundamental to achieving any other goals in life.

“Your health is what? When you are in good health, you can achieve. It’s only when you cannot do certain things that you cannot achieve your goals.”

Even after being sick for days, getting back to exercise resulted in noticeable improvements: “I’m doing fine today, not like yesterday. Because the energy is coming back… No more lying down. I got up. I shake my body. No more sickness. No more headache.”

The journey back to fitness after illness may be challenging, but with persistence and determination, energy levels can be restored and health regained. Starting with just 20 minutes of light exercise can make a significant difference in how you feel and perform.