One parameter which is often neglected or overlooked is your "mental condition" for exercise.
In 2020, I was under emotional turmoil and during that time as well I was taking care of my nutrition, exercise and sleep routine. My exercise routine was a combination of 2-3 days of active strength training and 2-3 days of running. Before 2020 the last time I was sick was in the year 2014 but in the year 2020 I was diagnosed with Chikungunya in the early September - Once I recovered from Chikungunya I started my routine (read: nutrition, exercise, sleep) slowly and gradually.
Again in the month of October 2020 I was down with a severe Viral infection with high grade fever. Then in the month of January 2021 I got stye in the eye, followed by mild COVID in April 2021.
Every time I recovered from the illness I started my routine only to focus on building my immunity but my body couldn't sustain the load of exercise I was doing and so instead of building immunity I was falling sick.
During my COVID quarantine time I got ample time to think about what was going wrong and I realised my body is unable to bear the load of exercise routine because my emotional health is asking for something else.
My emotional health was looking for everything passive. It needed peace, comfort, compassion and relaxation. Post COVID I changed my exercise routine completely and started focusing on passive strength training, movement and mobility. I shifted from Running to Swimming and sometimes walking (just to feel relaxed). These exercises helped me in calming my mind and helped me build immunity and strength.
The major learning was that mental, emotional health plays a major role in deciding which exercise we need to choose. As I work as a fitness coach and exercising is who I am, I didn't stop exercising but worked on finding a solution, otherwise most people would quit exercising.
Today, I am back to active and passive both ways of workouts and I make sure to include passive workouts too because of the fast paced life we all live. It is a balanced approach to my workout routine and it helps me pause, slow down, reflect and rejuvenate.
Choose wisely!
