Why You Should Force Your Body to Move: Overcoming Sickness Through Exercise
When illness strikes, our natural instinct is often to rest completely. However, prolonged inactivity can lead to stiffness, discomfort, and a longer recovery process. This was my recent experience after several days of feeling sick and avoiding exercise.
I learned the hard way that completely avoiding physical activity didn't help my recovery. Instead, it made my body stiff and uncomfortable. Even basic stretching became painful—the back of my legs, nails, and toes all ached due to lack of movement. This experience reinforced an important lesson about maintaining some level of physical activity, even during illness.
Taking Control of Your Body
The journey to better health and fitness requires mental discipline. As I discovered during my workout session, you need to take control rather than letting your body dictate your actions:
- Control your body, don't let it control you
- Control your mouth and eating habits
- Force your body to move, even when it's difficult
- Start small and build gradually
Weight management follows this same principle. It's notoriously easy to gain weight but challenging to lose it. Success requires conscious control over your habits and choices. When you feel like indulging, you must sometimes say no and choose exercise instead.
Starting Where You Are
The beauty of fitness is that you don't need to be perfect to begin. You don't have to lift heavy weights or run marathons from day one:
“We must not lift 100 pounds to be effective. Just start by lifting 10 pounds or 5 pounds. Little by little, we are going to be fine.”
My personal experience with a treadmill illustrates this principle. Before my illness, I could handle speed level 7, sometimes even 9. The maximum setting is 12, which would be too fast for my current condition. By acknowledging my limitations and working within them, I can still benefit from exercise without risking injury.
The Recovery Process
After just a short period of consistent movement, I could already feel my energy returning. What started as a struggle became easier as my body remembered its capabilities. This quick improvement demonstrates how resilient our bodies can be when we give them the right stimulus.
The transformation was remarkable—from barely being able to jog for five minutes two days prior to completing a 20-minute workout and burning nearly 200 calories. This progress wasn't about pushing to extremes but rather about consistent, deliberate movement.
The Importance of Health
Perhaps the most important lesson from this experience is that good health underlies all other achievements. When health falters, everything else becomes more difficult.
“Your health is what? When you are in good health, you can achieve all. It's only when you cannot do certain things that you cannot achieve your goals.”
This perspective makes investing in your physical wellbeing not just about aesthetics or fitness goals, but about creating the foundation for everything else you want to accomplish in life.
Conclusion
The next time illness threatens to keep you completely sedentary, consider whether some gentle movement might actually aid your recovery. Listen to your body, but don't let temporary discomfort prevent you from maintaining basic mobility. By gently forcing your body to move within reasonable limits, you may find yourself recovering more quickly and feeling better sooner.
Remember, fitness isn't about perfection—it's about consistency and making the choice to move forward, even when it's difficult. Your body is designed for movement, and honoring that design even during challenging times can lead to faster recovery and better overall health.
