CV/ FITNESS without using my legs!

irvined2

Hi Guys,

Hope everyone is well.

I'm throwing out an open topic here... I have recently damaged my knee whilst playing rugby. It has nearly been two weeks since the injury occurred. The injury was that of a sublux of the patella.

My club is providing regular physio and I have seen the specialists who have referred for an MRI. In the mean time I know that my quad is damaged along with my patella tendon and all other tests have come back negative so were hoping its only 4-5 weeks out.

Anyway I am taking this as an opportunity to blast my upper body in anticipation for some leg work when I'm fit.

In the mean time i need to keep active and do some form of cv and fitness. I had my first pool rehab session yesterday but I want more variety and I'm obviously limited to certain movements that don't include weight baring on the leg.

I know there are allot of S&C coaches on here and PT's so I welcome your thoughts on anything I can try to maintain my CV and keep added weight off!

I look forward to your response!

Cheers!

BigDougie1211

Hand Bike, or drag a chair over and sit at the Heavy Bag / Speed Bag.
I came up with one when I broke both my legs a few years ago, but it needs some space.
I tied a 30 yard rope off then wheeled myself out. Then pulled yself back hand over hand. Wheeled back and repeated.
Modified it when I could walk a bit.
Tied a 10 kg med ball ( the kind with handles ) and rolled it out, then dragged it back hand over hand.
It seems really easy but after a few quick repetitions you're heart rate will be right up.

farsteve

I think a lot of us men actually tend to ignore the benefits of upper body cardio. That's why you don't see many men in group fitness (aerobics) classes. Having said that, BigDougie has some good ideas. My first thought was a heavy bag but since he has actually been there (broken legs), I will simply concur with his recommendations.

notthatthis

I believe Battle Ropes are pretty much the upper body CV/resistance choice for personal trainers, and hand over hand rope pulls and of course simple seated row, 20% of one rep max and go until knackered or dumbbell pistons - requires standing.

JamesBurkes

Battle ropes, hand bike, swimming.

You could also try doing your upper body weight training in the form of Giant Sets. If your knee is injured you may have an issue with handling free weights, so you may need to stick to machines (not sure how bad it is?) but just choose exercises you know you can do for your back, chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps, then do them all one after the other with minimal / no rest. After completing that giant set, rest till you're breathing a bit easier (maybe 1 minute, no more than 2) then repeat as many times as you feel comfortable. More than 5 giant sets would be a decent workout, depending on your fitness.

Again, depending on how bad your knee is - kettlebell swings. I did this when I had sore knees from too much running. But obviously, if you have quite a serious knee injury (rather than just not wanting to bend them too much, like me) then they'll be out of the question as you do need to bend your knees slightly then use your hips/thighs to explode the weight upwards.

irvined2

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses.

I was in the mind of using battle ropes. I also have access to a hand bike to but I feel these really don't do much for me.
As I'm also doing maintenance work doing too much of that can have a detrimental effect.

I like the idea of repping out on lighter weights though.

Thanks for the responses though guys, your input has helped!

Cheers.