The Journey to Recovery: Finding Strength Through Exercise After Illness
After several days of feeling sick and avoiding exercise, a determined individual shares their experience of getting back into physical activity despite lingering symptoms. The personal account highlights how lack of exercise led to stiffness and pain throughout their body, emphasizing the importance of maintaining physical activity even during challenging times.
“I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised and I did not do any good for my sister. That did not help me at all,” they explain. “Not exercising did not help me, but I 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 journey back to fitness isn’t easy, particularly when recovering from illness. With symptoms including headache and nasal congestion still present, they pushed through a 20-minute workout session. “My head is aching me, my nose is growing, but I will be fine. What matters is also my healthy lifestyle.”
Mind Over Matter
A key theme throughout the session was the mental discipline required to maintain fitness habits. “It is very hard to exercise. But very easy to get weight. Very hard to lose weight. Very easy to get weight,” they observe, highlighting one of the fundamental challenges of fitness.
The approach advocated focuses on self-discipline: “All you need to do is to push your body. You force it. Not lay your body. You control your body. Control your mouth. Control your belly. Control everything. And then force your body to move.”
Progress and Persistence
As the workout progressed, there was a noticeable improvement in energy and mood. “No more lying down! I got up and I… I shook my body! No more lying down, no more sickness, no more headache!” This transformation in just a few days demonstrates how quickly exercise can help improve well-being.
The individual noted specific improvements in stamina: “Yesterday, I cannot sustain this jogging for five minutes! No stop five minutes jogging!”
Accessible Fitness for Everyone
An important message conveyed is that fitness doesn’t require professional-level intensity. “We must not be professional as well! We must not lift 100 pounds! Just start by lifting 10 pounds, 5 pounds! Just little by little, we are going to be fine!”
Equipment being used included a treadmill with various settings, with the individual currently using speed level seven out of a maximum twelve. “When I lose weight, I’ll start running 10, because that way you have to pop up. If I put it now, I will fall.”
By the end of the session, they were approaching 200 calories burned and feeling the benefits of renewed activity. “I was cold now, but now I’m sweating… My energy level is coming back.”
This experience serves as a reminder that health maintenance requires consistent effort, but even small steps can lead to significant improvements in how we feel and function daily.