Exercise and recovery from illness

[Huntress]

Hey rebels,

I've just finally got the better of a nasty bout of pneumonia that has had me on my back for the past three weeks. I went and saw my doctor today, and she said that although I'm recovering, I'm still very weak and it will be another 3-4 weeks until my lung capacity returns to normal and I can return to exercise.

I know she's right - it's kind of hard to ignore when I get breathless from just taking out the trash - but I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting to the idea of having to swear off exercise for a month. When I feel bad, I go for a walk or drag my boyfriend indoor rockclimbing or do a weights session. I'm reading about so many amazing athletic achievements (anyone seen Kacy Catanzaro on American Ninja Warrior?!) and in my head I'm so ready to go out and do a million pull ups but I seriously can't even walk around the block without getting dizzy and needing to lie down.  

Does anyone have any tips on staying positive and motivated when you recover from an illness? I don't want to lose the energy and desire I have to work out and stay healthy but at the same time thinking about how much I want to exercise is driving me crazy because I'm always thinking about stuff I can't do yet.

My brain also plays weird tricks on me and tells me that because I can't exercise now I'll never be able to exercise and be fit again. Like, for some reason I am convinced today that I'll never be able to fix my lower back issues and thus will never be able to deadlift heavy, which makes absolutely no sense, but stupid brain, all these thoughts are going through my head.

I think that part of it is also that just before I got sick I slipped into some really self destructive patterns of bad eating and inactivity. Being so sick actually made me realise how much I appreciate that I've been given a body that can do awesome stuff and I want to make the most of it and respect it by eating right and exercising.

Grateful for and all advice and stories of recovery from illness - thanks

[JPrev]

That's generally what happens when you're forced to take a break for a while from something you love (citation needed).  But you mentioned rock climbing and weight lifting, so is it just cardio-type stuff that your doctor's telling you to avoid?

[MalleusMaleficarum]

I baby myself hard over illness.

 

I've learned by trial and error that exercising when sick is like driving on a flat tire - it only makes things worse.

 

Since my goal is to become better rather than worse, I don't do myself the disservice of exercising when I'm not even biologically capable of making progress.

 

A whole month sucks hard. I've done two weeks many times for many reasons, but dang. If I were forced to swear off for a whole month I'd probably focus on diet and every other aspect of lifestyle that could positively impact my recovery and general health and try to make "gains" in that area. I'd be intermittent fasting hard to get my metabolic flexibility up, cleaning up my diet and loading it down with spices to minimize inflammation in my body (relevant to wound/illness healing), consuming homemade yogurt/kefir/kombucha for probiotics, cod liver oil, etcetera. I'd also force myself to get 200g protein a day, which is vastly more than I need when actively exercising but might help to reduce muscle/strength loss over an extended period of not exercising.

 

I'd probably also take it as an excuse to do a LOT of stretching.

 

I guess if I were in your shoes I'd just dedicate all of my focus towards stretching/diet/DIY projects instead of hard exercise.

[Huntress]

That's generally what happens when you're forced to take a break for a while from something you love (citation needed).  But you mentioned rock climbing and weight lifting, so is it just cardio-type stuff that your doctor's telling you to avoid?

 

Nah, it's everything. Even stuff that is strength based requires your lungs to work hard for you. At the moment, even just doing my mobility stretches leaves me breathing like I've just done a set of squats, so I can't see myself muscling up a climbing wall. Boooo. 

MalleusMalificarium, the advice to focus on diet is good. I'm gonna have to think my usual strategy because I'm a pretty passionate cook but I don't have the energy in me to make what I usually do. Hopefully I'll be able to think of some simple stuff I can make that is healthy and still tasty. Stretching I'm gonna give a go again in a few days. I am improving - last week I needed to take rest breaks when I did laundry or made food, and now it ain't no thang - so hopefully as I keep getting better I can add more stuff like that back in.

[Laertes]

I so hear you on all points made, particularly the combo of frustration and totally illogical (but normal) fears.

 

The times I have gotten hurt or sick and had to back off, I basically did the same thing as MalleusMalificarium in regards to diet (minus the protein bit).  I had to take a month and a half off of everything except mobility work or some gentle yoga a little while back, but started back up right where I was progression-wise when I got better.  Actually saw some form improvement (maybe the mobility, maybe the central nervous system getting a rest, who knows).

 

This may sound a little odd, but how about taking up some seated or standing meditation in the meantime?  It's as low-impact as it gets, it helps relax your breathing and is good for the bad-brain moments, and it's a good trick to have in the bag later to fight post-exercise stress response.