Bouncing Back After Illness: Why Consistent Exercise Matters
Getting back to exercise after being sick can be challenging, but it's an essential step in regaining your health and energy. After several days of illness, one fitness enthusiast learned this lesson firsthand when attempting to return to their workout routine.
Being sedentary for just a few days had noticeable effects: stiffness throughout the body, pain during basic stretches, and an overall decrease in mobility. The experience highlighted how quickly our bodies can lose conditioning when exercise stops—even for a short period.
The Struggle of Returning to Fitness
“I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised and I did not do any good for my system,” the individual shared during their comeback workout. “Not exercising did not help me at all, 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.”
Despite continuing to experience symptoms including neck pain, headache, and nasal congestion, they made the decision to push through with a short 20-minute workout to begin rebuilding their fitness base.
The Challenging Balance of Weight Management
During the workout session, they reflected on an important truth about fitness: “It is very hard to dress as nice. But very easy to get weight. Very hard to lose weight. Very easy to gain weight.”
This observation highlights one of the fundamental challenges of fitness—maintaining discipline requires consistent effort, while losing ground happens with minimal effort.
Mind Over Matter: The Mental Game of Exercise
The mental aspect of exercise, especially when recovering from illness, cannot be overstated. The workout demonstrated the importance of mental discipline in fitness:
- “You need to push your body.”
- “You control your body. You control your mouth.”
- “Force your body to move. Force it. It's not easy.”
This mindset of gentle but determined effort is crucial when rebuilding fitness after a setback.
Progressive Improvement
Throughout the session, there was a clear progression from the previous days: “Yesterday I couldn't withstand jogging for five minutes non-stop… The worst of them was two days ago.”
This improvement demonstrates how quickly the body can begin to recover once you restart your exercise routine, even if you start small.
The Importance of Starting Where You Are
One of the most valuable takeaways was the reminder that fitness doesn't require perfection: “We must not be professional. We must not lift 100 pounds. Just start by lifting 10 pounds, 5 pounds… little by little, we are going to be fine.”
This principle of gradual progression is essential for sustainable fitness, especially when returning after illness or injury.
Adjusting Intensity Based on Current Ability
The workout also demonstrated the importance of adjusting exercise intensity based on your current condition. Using a treadmill with various settings allowed for precise control of workout difficulty:
“The treadmill has timer, has calories, has number of steps, distance… has the incline and it has also the speed limit. Like if you're using three, you're using two, you're using five.”
Working within your current capabilities while gradually increasing intensity is the safest way to rebuild fitness.
Conclusion: Consistency Is Key
The journey back to fitness after illness reinforces perhaps the most important principle of exercise: consistency matters more than intensity. Even a short, moderate workout helps rebuild the habit and begins the process of restoring your body's capabilities.
Your health is your most valuable asset, and maintaining it requires regular attention. As demonstrated in this comeback workout, even when you're not feeling 100%, a gentle approach to exercise can help accelerate your return to full health and fitness.
