The Power of Pushing Through: How to Exercise Even When You Don't Feel Like It
We've all been there – feeling sick, tired, or just plain unmotivated to exercise. But as one fitness enthusiast recently discovered, not exercising can actually make you feel worse. After feeling sick for several days and skipping workouts, they experienced increased stiffness, pain in their legs, neck, head, and even their toes – all because of a lack of exercise.
This experience highlights an important truth about fitness: consistency matters. Even a short 20-minute workout can help maintain flexibility, reduce pain, and boost your overall wellbeing.
Getting Back on Track After Illness
Returning to exercise after being sick can be challenging. Your energy levels are lower, and your body might still be recovering. The key is to start slowly and listen to your body. In this case, our fitness enthusiast began with light jogging, noting that just the day before, they couldn't sustain even five minutes of continuous jogging.
Progress was evident as they were able to jog longer, gradually building back their stamina and celebrating the small victory of increased endurance. This demonstrates how quickly our bodies can respond positively to renewed movement.
The Mental Battle of Fitness
Perhaps the most powerful insight shared was about the mental aspect of fitness: “It is very hard to lose weight. Very easy to gain weight. All you need to do is to push your body. Don't let your body control you. Control your body.”
This mindset is crucial for fitness success. It's about making conscious choices rather than giving in to momentary desires:
- Control your mouth – make deliberate food choices
- Control your cravings – recognize but don't automatically act on them
- Force your body to move – especially when you don't feel like it
While it may sound harsh to “force” yourself to exercise, it's often necessary to overcome the initial resistance. Once you get moving, your body often responds positively, releasing endorphins that make you feel better.
Starting Where You Are
Another valuable reminder was that you don't need to be a fitness professional or lift hundreds of pounds to benefit from exercise. Starting with what you can manage – even if it's just 5 or 10 pounds – creates the foundation for improvement.
For treadmill users, this might mean beginning at a lower speed setting. The speaker mentioned using speed settings of 5-7 currently, with a goal of reaching 10 as fitness improves. A treadmill that goes up to 12 provides room for growth as stamina and strength increase.
The Health-Achievement Connection
Perhaps most profound was the observation that “When you are in good health, you can achieve. It's only when you cannot do certain things that you cannot achieve your goals.”
This speaks to the fundamental connection between physical wellbeing and life success. Exercise isn't just about aesthetics or even physical health – it's about creating the energy and capacity to pursue your dreams and ambitions.
Celebrating Small Victories
By the end of the workout, our fitness enthusiast was already seeing results – from feeling cold at the beginning to sweating, from struggling with energy to burning nearly 200 calories. These immediate rewards reinforce the value of pushing through initial resistance.
Remember that fitness is a journey with ups and downs. Days of illness or low motivation will happen, but the ability to get back on track is what ultimately determines success. As demonstrated in this experience, even a short workout can help rebuild momentum and get you moving in the right direction again.
