The Power of Perseverance: Getting Back to Exercise After Illness

Recovery from illness can be challenging, especially when it impacts your fitness routine. After several days of feeling sick and unable to exercise, the consequences became clear – stiffness, pain, and discomfort throughout the body.

“I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised and I did not do any good for my system. That did not help me at all,” shares a determined fitness enthusiast who recently returned to their workout routine. “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

Despite still experiencing some symptoms – headache, neck pain, and nasal congestion – the decision to return to exercise proved beneficial. “I still feel my neck, my head is aching me, my nose is running, but I will be fine,” they explained during a 20-minute workout session.

The transformation was visible even within a short workout. “Yesterday I cannot sustain this jogging for five minutes. No stop five minutes jogging. Because two days ago that was the worst of them.”

Mind Over Matter

One of the key insights shared during the workout was the importance of mental discipline when it comes to fitness and weight management:

“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 control your body. Control your mouth. When you feel like eating, you say, no. I will not eat today. I will exercise. Just go ahead.”

Starting Small

For those intimidated by fitness, the message was clear – start where you are and build gradually:

“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. That is why we need to run. We need to exercise. You must not be professional. You must not lift 100 pounds. Just start by lifting 10 pounds. Five pounds. Just little by little we are going to be fine.”

The session demonstrated the progressive nature of fitness recovery, with careful attention to speed and intensity levels appropriate for one’s current condition.

The Reward of Persistence

By the end of the short workout, the benefits were already apparent. “I was cold before, but now I’m sweating,” they noted, having successfully burned nearly 200 calories during the session.

The experience serves as a powerful reminder that consistency and determination are key elements in maintaining physical health, especially when recovering from illness. Even a brief return to exercise can help revitalize energy levels and put you back on the path to wellness.