I did not expect one simple movement to change my plans for the next two weeks. This is how my recovery journey started, after a knee injury turned an ordinary run into a forced pause from training. What followed was not only physical recovery, but also the beginning of a slower, steadier process of rebuilding through rest, patience and small daily choices.

The moment it happened

I had been down with the flu. Not properly sick, but the kind of tired where training felt pointless and even getting motivated was an effort. So when I finally got back out and went running, I was just happy to be moving again.

I walked, ran up the hill, and started climbing the stairs at the park. I love those stairs. And halfway up there is this entrance where you see the whole garden, and that day it looked especially beautiful. So I stopped. Turned around to take a picture.

I did not turn gently.

I heard a click. A loud one. And my first thought was: what the heck is this?

I rearranged my leg, checked the knee, and carried on. Finished the stairs, stretched a bit, made my vlogs, came home, took a shower, had lunch, and sat down to work.

I was hoping it was nothing.

When I realised it was not nothing

I sat at my desk for about an hour, maybe two. When I got up, I kid you not, the pain hit me hard. I had difficulty walking. It was hurting so much that I was afraid to bend my leg.

That was when I knew.

What made it strange was that the knee was not swollen. It did not hurt when I touched it. Only with movement. I stretched a little, the pain backed off slightly, sat back down to work, got up again, pain again.

That evening I called a friend of mine. A physiotherapist. I explained everything.

What my physiotherapist friend told me

He came over the next morning, watched me walk, checked the leg.

Not serious, he said.

But I really need to stop working out. Right now. Immediately.

I looked at him and said: really? Am I crazy?

He told me to forget exercise completely. Even Body Balance, I should skip the strength part and just focus on breathing and stretching.

And then I made a tactical error. I told him I had a Sprint class booked, and that Sprint is not on foot, so maybe…

He opened his eyes wide and said: are you crazy? Sprint? You can’t go to Sprint these days. Just stop. Just stretch. Forget the gym for a while. You can hardly walk in your house. What are you thinking?

I tried one more time. But what about Friday?

He did not even let me finish the sentence. I don’t even want to know what you booked for Friday.

15 days or months. It’s up to you.

I pushed a little harder. I said, that is a lot, 15 days. After one week it might be fine with all that stretching. Do I really have to stop 15 days?

He looked at me and said:

You don’t have to stop 15 days. You can stop for 15 days. Or for months. It is up to you.

That shot me right up.

Not serious now, he said, but it can get serious if you do not recover properly.

He is a very charming man. But I do not argue with him. So I decided to follow the professional guidance, stop for two weeks, and let him re-evaluate after that.

The hardest part was not the pain

The hardest part was letting go of the week I had planned.

I had run the day before. I was going to Sprint that day. Body Attack the day after. Power Jump the following week, and not just any class. It was going to be with André Godinho, the first person I ever did Power Jump with. I remembered being terrified in that first class, jumping and looking straight down, barely glancing at the instructor, completely focused on not falling. It was so fun. I had been so excited to go back.

I had already arranged everything with Bruna so I could make the evening class work.

And just like that, all of it was gone.

That is the part people do not always see when someone says they are injured. It is not just the knee. It is the momentum. The routine. The things you were genuinely looking forward to.

A little perspective

Around this same time, Facebook and Instagram started showing me memories from last year. Notification after notification. Every single picture that came up, I was either at the gym or on my way to the gym.

Six days a week. That is something else, man.

I miss those days. I had so much fun.

But here is the thing. I am telling you this story smiling. Not pretending everything is fine, but genuinely smiling, because life has brought me more serious stuff. And this is nothing. It is just 15 days of vacation that I have kind of been having since the year began anyway. Hehehe!

Good thing this is not serious. I can come back to that. Positive thoughts.

Why I chose to stop properly

Once I heard that line, 15 days or months, your choice, I knew exactly what I needed to do.

I was frustrated. Of course. But I have lived through harder things than being told to rest for two weeks. I can hold both truths at once. Disappointed and clear-headed. Annoyed and grateful it is not worse.

So I stopped. Not happily, not dramatically. Just honestly.

At least I have my health. I will be able to run again soon. I will get back to Power Jump. I will get to Sprint. The gym will still be there.

If you are rebuilding your routine too, you can download my free Weekly Recovery Checklist below. It includes separate checklists for Week 1 and Week 2.

This is where it began

That is how my recovery journey started.

Not with a big revelation. Just an ordinary morning run, a wrong turn, a loud click, and the decision to listen instead of push.

Over the next days and weeks, recovery became about more than the knee. About slowing down, staying mentally steady, showing up differently. And that is what this part of the blog is about.

If you are also in a season where your body has forced you to pause, I hope this feels honest and useful. It is not always serious. Sometimes it really is just life doing its thing, and the only right answer is to stretch, rest, and trust that you will be back.

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