For anyone who takes their fitness seriously, sickness can often be a major setback to their regular exercise and fitness routines. When you suffer from an, it’s natural to wonder if you need to away from the gym until you’re healthy again. If you do decide to pause your diet and exercise routine, you may also worry about how soon is safe to return to your routine.
Rule of Thumb for Exercising While Sick or Injured
You may take on some easy exercises if your sickness is from the neck up, e.g. a runny nose or a sore throat. Ailments below the neck are considered a bit riskier for physical activity. For instance, if you’re suffering from a cough, fever, vomiting, chest pain, diarrhea, muscle ache, etc, then you should take time for any intense physical activity until you’re well recovered.
People who have been through minor medical procedures also wonder when it’s safe for their fitness journey. For instance, some people ask whether they’re permitted to exercise while wearing a newly installed set of dentures or after getting an IUD inserted. For the former, as long as dentures are properly inserted, it is okay to go right back to your workout routine immediately with no fear of them falling out. According to Yukon Dentistry, a denturist in Yukon, nothing should stop you from finding solutions to your dental problems to improve your smile. Likewise, people who get IUDs inserted are advised to return to exercising after just 24 hours.
Unlike minor procedures, major medical procedures can keep one away from their workouts for much longer. For instance, after getting a prosthetic leg, a person’s return to exercise is expected to be gradual and very closely supervised by a professional for a while. The same applies to people who’ve just been through other kinds of life-threatening surgeries. However, while getting back to the gym too soon might hinder recovery in some cases, the importance of exercising before and after major surgical procedures should not be ignored; as long as one follows the recommendation of their doctors.
If you’re feeling unmotivated about resuming your fitness and exercise routine after an illness, you should consider ways to enhance your fitness by making it more exciting.
How to Regain Motivation after a Prolonged Illness
After recovery from a prolonged illness, one may have a hard time returning to their fitness regime. Here are a few tips that could help.
Don’t Do Too Much Too Soon
Don’t get back on the horse before your doctor permits; else your health may break down all over again. Additionally, when you do get back to the gym, do not be tempted to get in all the exercising you have missed in just one session. Take things slowly at the beginning and give yourself time to heal completely.
On your first day back to the gym, you could focus on low-impact or beginner workout routines. Try not to strain the parts of your body that were injured during the illness.
Pay Attention to Your Nutrition
While it may be tough to return to your workouts with the same intensity to which you are accustomed, it’s pretty easy to stick to a healthy diet when sick. Over the years, research has shown that most people just do not have a healthy diet. You may spend a lot of hours daily lying down while sick and eating junk foods during this period would help pile on unnecessary weight. If you do end up adding weight while stuck on a sickbed, it’s useless spending your time worrying about it when there’s not much you can do about it. Take things one day at a time and remember that one day you’ll be healthy again and able to work off the extra weight.
Take Up Other Hobbies
You may have been previously accustomed to working out for long hours at the gym and now you have to take it easy due to your health. A good way to pull this off is to find some new activities you can enjoy. Take up reading, going to the movies, painting, or video games. This would help keep your mind off the gym for a while.
Finally
Remember that not all progress is easily visible at first sight. Shedding weight and keeping fit is always a gradual journey so never be discouraged if you’re not seeing any immediate progress. Do not listen to the words of negative people who may want to tell you your efforts are not paying off. Remember you’ve been through a major illness and you deserve all the time you need to get back in shape.
