The Power of Perseverance: Returning to Exercise After Illness
There's nothing quite like the struggle of returning to exercise after being sidelined by illness. Anyone who has experienced this knows the frustration of feeling your hard-earned fitness slip away during recovery. But as challenging as it can be, getting back to your workout routine is essential for both physical and mental well-being.
After several days of feeling sick, the negative effects of inactivity become quickly apparent. The body stiffens, flexibility decreases, and even simple movements can cause discomfort. As one fitness enthusiast recently experienced, “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 knees, my toes, everything pained me. Because of lack of exercise.”
The Importance of Pushing Through
When returning to exercise after illness, it's important to acknowledge your current limitations while still challenging yourself. Your body may resist at first, but gentle persistence is key. Even with lingering symptoms like headaches or congestion, light exercise can often help the recovery process rather than hinder it.
The mental battle is perhaps the greatest challenge. As fitness enthusiasts know well: “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.”
Starting Small
Recovery is not about immediately returning to your previous level of intensity. Instead, focus on what you can do today:
- Begin with lighter weights than you're accustomed to
- Reduce workout duration
- Lower the intensity of cardio exercises
- Incorporate more stretching
Remember that progress doesn't require professional-level performance: “We must not be professional as well. 100 pounds. 200 pounds. Just start by lifting 10 pounds. Five pounds. If we cannot lift 10 pounds, just little by little we are going to be fine.”
Tracking Your Progress
Using equipment with tracking capabilities can be motivating as you work your way back to fitness. Treadmills that monitor calories burned, distance covered, and heart rate provide concrete evidence of improvement. Setting realistic goals based on these metrics helps maintain motivation without risking setbacks.
For cardio exercise, gradually increasing speed and incline is safer than attempting your pre-illness intensity. “When I lose weight, I will start running at 10. Because that way you have to pop pop pop. If I put it now, I will fall… But I used to put up to seven. Before, I used to put up to nine.”
The Reward of Persistence
Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of returning to exercise after illness is feeling your energy and strength return. Each workout becomes a little easier, and progress becomes tangible: “My energy level is coming back.”
The key takeaway is that health forms the foundation for all other accomplishments. As one fitness enthusiast wisely noted: “Your health is what you are. In good health, you can achieve all. 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.”
So if you're recovering from illness or injury, be patient with yourself, start small, and celebrate each step forward. Your body will thank you for the effort.
