Bouncing Back: How to Restart Your Fitness Journey After Illness
Getting back to exercise after being sick can be challenging, but it's an essential step in recovery and maintaining long-term health. When illness forces you to take a break from your fitness routine, your body quickly reminds you how important regular movement is.
After just a few days without exercise, many people experience increased stiffness, discomfort, and reduced mobility. As one fitness enthusiast recently discovered, “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. Not exercising did not help me, but made my body to be stiff. I tried to stretch, even the back of my legs, my ankles, my toes, everything pained me. Because of lack of exercise.”
Starting Small After Illness
The key to restarting your fitness journey after being sick is to begin with gentle, manageable workouts. Your body needs time to rebuild strength and endurance. Even a short 20-minute session can help restart your metabolism and improve your mood.
Signs that you're ready to begin exercising again include:
- Reduced symptoms like headaches and congestion
- Return of normal energy levels
- Improved appetite
- Better temperature regulation (not feeling cold or feverish)
The Mental Challenge of Fitness
One of the greatest insights about fitness is understanding that it's largely a mental game: “It is very hard to do exercise, but very easy to get weight. Very hard to lose weight. Very easy to get weight.”
Success comes from mental discipline: “All you need to do is to push your body, you must force it. Not let your body control you. Control your mouth. When you feel like eating, you say no, I will not eat today. I will exercise instead.”
Progress Takes Patience
When returning to fitness after illness, you may notice your capacity has decreased. Where once you could run at higher speeds or for longer durations, you might need to scale back temporarily. This is normal and nothing to be discouraged about.
As one person noted about their treadmill workout: “I used to put up to seven. Before, I used to put up to nine. But now, I can do up to seven, but not 10, not 11, not 12. 12 is the highest.”
The Importance of Consistency
The true benefit of exercise comes not from occasional intense workouts but from consistent, regular movement. Even when you can't perform at your peak, maintaining the habit of exercise is crucial.
Within just a few days of returning to light exercise, many people report:
- Reduced stiffness
- Improved energy levels
- Better mood
- Faster overall recovery from illness
Listen to Your Body
While pushing yourself is important, equally important is listening to your body's signals. Start with lighter intensities and shorter durations, then gradually increase as your strength returns.
Remember: “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 anyhow we can. We must not be professional. We must not lift 100 pounds. Just start by lifting 10 pounds, 5 pounds. If we cannot lift 10 pounds, just little by little, we are going to be fine.”
Getting back to fitness after illness isn't about picking up exactly where you left off. It's about reconnecting with your body, rebuilding your routine, and recommitting to your health journey one step at a time.
