Foot-friendly at home workouts?

mortuseon_
mortuseon_ Posts: 257 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I’ve been spraining my ankle a lot recently (going to physio to get it sorted on Monday) but it’s affecting my ability to exercise - I’ve been cleared to lift, but I can’t actually GET to the gym to lift because it requires walking up a cobbled hill, which is no good on an unstable ankle. Obviously I can’t run, either, my other exercise of choice. And, swimming or cycling would also require a walking commute for me - don’t feel safe doing that for a little while because walking has led to further sprains. SO, I’ve been resorting to at home workouts and have been doing some of the ‘hurt foot’ workouts on YouTube for a little while. I’ve also been doing some of the low impact videos from Blogilates.

The problem is that I don’t enjoy bodyweight workouts or find high reps moves as satisfying. I feel like I burn out with muscle soreness pretty quickly and it leaves me less able to focus on form, so I don’t get as satisfying a workout. Typically, I enjoy lifting heavy and running. I did buy a resistance band so I can do moves with some resistance added, but so far it’s not a perfect solution. I am therefore asking whether anyone has any videos that are:

1) Apartment-friendly (no jumping - both due to ankle and downstairs neighbours)
2) Low equipment, though I do have a couple of resistance bands & am enthusiastic about using them
3) Calorie burning - I would like something that allows me to at least partly offset the consequences of being sedentary on my dud foot
4) Minimal impact (for obvious reasons!)
5) Potentially a bit higher in resistance, or at least not as focused in doing fast reps for time.

I appreciate that this is a tall order, so no worries if this is too much to ask from one video, but I was just curious about the experiences of others with sprains and strains. Thanks!

Replies

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    The PT should be able to show you exercises you can do at home safely.

    I once had tendonitis and was out of commission for a while. I followed what my OT told me and got better.
  • mortuseon_
    mortuseon_ Posts: 257 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    The PT should be able to show you exercises you can do at home safely.

    I once had tendonitis and was out of commission for a while. I followed what my OT told me and got better.

    Thanks, I’m hoping so. A gym near me also offers sports medicine/physio (university gym) so I might end up going there too. Just wanted some ideas in the meantime!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited January 2019
    I started out with "walking style" workouts - Leslie Sansone or Jessica Smith. The beauty of these is they are very minimal (or no choreography). I could swap out anything that I was uncomfortable with.

    Watch out for your walking surface too. Carpet and side to side movements can be troublesome if you don't pick your feet up enough.

    https://www.youtube.com/user/walkathomemedia

    Now I use a rebounder which is lower impact still. A quality rebounder is just firm enough, a cheap one can be like jumping on the floor.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    mortuseon_ wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    The PT should be able to show you exercises you can do at home safely.

    I once had tendonitis and was out of commission for a while. I followed what my OT told me and got better.

    Thanks, I’m hoping so. A gym near me also offers sports medicine/physio (university gym) so I might end up going there too. Just wanted some ideas in the meantime!

    You're starting PT tomorrow so go with that.
  • mortuseon_
    mortuseon_ Posts: 257 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    mortuseon_ wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    The PT should be able to show you exercises you can do at home safely.

    I once had tendonitis and was out of commission for a while. I followed what my OT told me and got better.

    Thanks, I’m hoping so. A gym near me also offers sports medicine/physio (university gym) so I might end up going there too. Just wanted some ideas in the meantime!

    You're starting PT tomorrow so go with that.

    Thanks, it’s PT just to rehab the ankle though, it’s not necessarily sports focused so they’re not going to give me *workouts* I can do, just exercises I can use to rehab my ankle on. That’s why I’m asking for workouts that don’t involve my foot.
  • mortuseon_
    mortuseon_ Posts: 257 Member
    TeaBea wrote: »
    I started out with "walking style" workouts - Leslie Sansone or Jessica Smith. The beauty of these is they are very minimal (or no choreography). I could swap out anything that I was uncomfortable with.

    Watch out for your walking surface too. Carpet and side to side movements can be troublesome if you don't pick your feet up enough.

    https://www.youtube.com/user/walkathomemedia

    Now I use a rebounder which is lower impact still. A quality rebounder is just firm enough, a cheap one can be like jumping on the floor.

    Thanks so much! Super helpful!! I know the sports physio (not the one I am attending, but thinking of making an appt - just got to pay for it which is annoying) has an ‘antigravity’ treadmill that I’m quite interested in using once I’m cleared for it.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    Body weight single leg deadlifts. Use an empty cup to make sure you're going through the full range of motion. Physical therapists love this one, it strengthens your feet, ankles, and core.
  • meritage5
    meritage5 Posts: 32 Member
    get (or rent) a knee scooter. You kneel on it with the injured ankle not bearing weight. It will let you walk and also get to the pool etc. See a health dealer-like those that supply walkers and wheelchairs.

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