Why You Shouldn't Skip Exercise When You're Sick: A Personal Recovery Journey

We've all been there – feeling under the weather and using it as an excuse to skip our workouts. But as one fitness enthusiast recently discovered, completely abandoning exercise while sick can actually make you feel worse.

“I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised and I did not do any good for my system,” she explains. “That did not help me at all. Not exercising did not help me, but made my body to be stiff. I tried to stretch, even the back of my legs, my knees, my toes, everything pained me. Because of lack of exercise.”

Getting Back on Track

After several days of feeling unwell, the decision to return to light exercise proved beneficial. Despite still experiencing symptoms like headache and nasal congestion, the workout helped restore energy levels.

“I still feel it in my neck, my head is aching, my nose is growing, but I will be fine,” she shares. “I'm doing better today. That's why I'm running today. Small, small running today. I want to wake up my body.”

The improvement was notable even within a short timeframe: “Yesterday I couldn't sustain jogging for five minutes without stopping. Two days ago was the worst.”

The Mental Battle of Exercise

One of the most challenging aspects of maintaining fitness isn't physical capability but mental discipline. As our fitness enthusiast puts it:

“It is very hard to lose weight. Very easy to get weight. All you need to do is to push your body. Force it. Not letting your body control you. Control your mouth. When you feel like eating a snack, you say, no. I will not eat today's snack. I will exercise. Just go ahead. Control your mouth. Control your belly. Control everything. And then force your body to move. Force it. It's not easy. But you're going to force it.”

Start Where You Are

For those intimidated by fitness, remember that everyone starts somewhere. You don't need to begin with advanced exercises or heavy weights.

“We need to exercise anyhow. We must not be professional. We 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.”

Adapting to Your Fitness Level

Your workout intensity should match your current fitness level. For example, when using a treadmill, adjust the speed according to your capabilities:

“When I lose weight, I'll start running at level 10. Because at that speed you have to really move. If I put it now, I would fall because of my weight. I used to put it up to 7. Before, I used to put up to 9. But now, I can do up to 7, but not 10, not 11, not 12. 12 is the highest.”

The Importance of Health

Perhaps the most important takeaway is understanding how fundamental health is 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. That is why we need to run. We need to exercise.”

Even a short 20-minute workout can make a difference in how you feel, especially when recovering from illness. The key is to listen to your body while still giving it the movement it needs to stay strong and flexible.