The Importance of Consistency in Your Fitness Journey: A Personal Experience
We've all been there – feeling under the weather, skipping workouts, and then dealing with the consequences. After taking a few days off from exercise due to illness, the body responds quickly with stiffness, discomfort, and reduced stamina. This reality highlights one of the most important aspects of fitness: consistency.
Taking even a short break from regular physical activity can lead to noticeable changes in how your body feels and performs. As one fitness enthusiast recently discovered, “I have been feeling sick for some days, I have not really exercised… 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.”
The Challenge of Getting Back on Track
Returning to exercise after a break – whether due to illness, schedule changes, or simply losing motivation – can be challenging. Your endurance decreases, movements feel more difficult, and the mental hurdle seems higher than before.
What's the solution? Sometimes you simply need to push through. “It is very hard to exercise, but very easy to gain weight. Very hard to lose weight. Very easy to gain weight. All you need to do is to push your body, you force it, not let your body control you, control your mouth.”
Small Steps Lead to Big Results
The beauty of fitness is that you don't need to be perfect to make progress. You don't need to lift heavy weights or run marathons to see benefits. As our fitness enthusiast points out, “You must not be professional as well, you must not lift 100 pounds, just start by lifting 10 pounds, 5 pounds, if someone cannot lift 10 pounds, just little by little, we are going to be fine.”
This incremental approach applies to cardio training as well. If you're using a treadmill, for example, you can adjust the speed to match your current fitness level. The important thing is to start somewhere and gradually increase the intensity as your body adapts.
Listen to Your Body While Challenging It
Finding the right balance between pushing yourself and respecting your body's limits is crucial for long-term fitness success. For instance, if you're recovering from illness, you might not be able to maintain the same intensity as before, but some movement is better than none.
As our fitness enthusiast noted while getting back to jogging after being sick, “My energy level is coming back.” This is the positive feedback loop that exercise creates – the more consistently you do it, the better you feel, and the more you want to continue.
The Bottom Line
Your health is your greatest asset. “When you are in good health, you can achieve [goals]; it is only when you cannot do certain things that you cannot achieve your goals.” This perspective helps motivate consistent exercise, even when it's difficult.
Remember that fitness is a journey, not a destination. There will be setbacks and challenges along the way, but what matters most is your ability to get back on track and maintain consistency over time. Your future self will thank you for the effort you put in today.
