What other exercises can I do besides running?

Options
Finalatomicbuster
Finalatomicbuster Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, everyone!

About a month ago, I stopped losing weight for some reason and that gave me the motivation to go harder and start eating less. The hard work paid off, as I managed to lose at least 5 more pounds within the last 2 weeks. This week, however, I started to notice sharp pains on my heel. As much as I want to continue running even though I have this pain, I figured it's better to be safe than sorry, so I will probably be taking 2-4 weeks off from running.

With that said, I still want to continue reaching for my goal weight and I want to keep losing at least a pound or 2 per week. My question is, besides running, what other work outs can I do that will help me lose weight?

Any advice would be grateful. Thanks!

Replies

  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    Options
    Stay focus on your calorie deficiency and consider walking, swimming, or weight lifting.
  • DebTavares
    DebTavares Posts: 170 Member
    Options
    U can try fartlek or interval training on the elliptical
  • RogueinSF
    RogueinSF Posts: 20
    Options
    Power Yoga!!! I also just started ski-walking, but I don't know if that would be any better on the heel. Power Yoga got me in the best shape of my life, and if you can find it somewhere that heats up the room a bit, better still. I just moved and haven't found a place I like in Santa Fe, but I use the online classes from my Denver studio (CorePower) and I will still work up a sweat if I push myself. Also, Jillian Michael's "yoga" dvd I like quite a bit. Oh, and cycling of course!
  • CrescentCityGirl
    CrescentCityGirl Posts: 123 Member
    Options
    Power Yoga!!! I also just started ski-walking, but I don't know if that would be any better on the heel. Power Yoga got me in the best shape of my life, and if you can find it somewhere that heats up the room a bit, better still. I just moved and haven't found a place I like in Santa Fe, but I use the online classes from my Denver studio (CorePower) and I will still work up a sweat if I push myself. Also, Jillian Michael's "yoga" dvd I like quite a bit. Oh, and cycling of course!

    Yes, yoga!!! You can go to doyogawithme.com and access free online yoga videos. Also, you can find some videos on grokker.com. Surprisingly, some of the Pilates type workouts are good as well in my opinion. : )
  • Coltsforlife
    Coltsforlife Posts: 124
    Options
    start some kind of weight lifting; even if its not a lot of weight
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    Options
    Swim, swim, swim! It will do wonders for your foot, is easy on all the joints, provides cardio and resistance and sheds pounds like no other exercise. If you swim on your back, too, I think you use every muscle you have.

    People who swim have little problem losing weight if they don't go absolutely crazy eating.

    It's the best. You may not want to go back to running, though. :)

    See a podiatrist about the foot!
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    Options
    how about a rowing machine?
  • runNORTHweights
    runNORTHweights Posts: 2
    Options
    When you hit a plateau this does not mean go HARDER/EAT LESS. It means you need to mix up your routine. Do the exercises in a different order. Add new exercise besides running. Weight lifting may not make you loss a pound per week but it will burn fat!
  • mnfgrl1417
    mnfgrl1417 Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    I was an avid runner but also hit a weight loss plateau and thought "I'll just eat less and run more." I actually started to gain some of the weight back because of this mistake on top of feeling kind of tired and lousy. I stopped using running as my sole means for exercise and started doing different kinds of exercise videos. Fitnessblender.com is THE best website when it comes to quality, diverse workout videos. I don't want to sound like I'm preaching or like this is an ad for this site, I just know that I do at least 1 video a day and can't say a bad thing about this particular site. First, it's 100% free. They have hundreds of videos to choose from. Low impact (which was great for when I had bad shin splints), yoga/stretching routines, weight training, cardio, HIIT, kickboxing, hour long workouts or ones under 15 mins. What is also great about this site is the search engine. You can search for a workout by what equipment is needed, or level of difficulty, or estimated calorie burn, even what part of the body you want to workout. I've not spent a penny on equipment, or gym memberships, or even memberships to these websites and I continue to lose weight and gain lean muscle. I actually eat more now and am losing more weight because I'm switching up my routine with different kinds of workout videos and always keeping my body guessing. I hope this helps you or you find some other answer to your question. GOODLUCK!
  • Mykaelous
    Mykaelous Posts: 231 Member
    Options
    Hello, everyone!

    About a month ago, I stopped losing weight for some reason and that gave me the motivation to go harder and start eating less. The hard work paid off, as I managed to lose at least 5 more pounds within the last 2 weeks. This week, however, I started to notice sharp pains on my heel. As much as I want to continue running even though I have this pain, I figured it's better to be safe than sorry, so I will probably be taking 2-4 weeks off from running.

    With that said, I still want to continue reaching for my goal weight and I want to keep losing at least a pound or 2 per week. My question is, besides running, what other work outs can I do that will help me lose weight?

    Any advice would be grateful. Thanks!

    I sprained my ankle a week ago while attempting a back flip so I can relate to your pain. In the meantime I focused on proper nutrition, upper body weights and rowing on a machine. I also would perform stretches 3 times daily. I can almost walk on my ankle normally now although it's still purple from all the bruising and have been stretching it daily and slowly increasing the time I spend walking on it. If you are only getting pain when you run I would suggest that you try an elliptical machine that would lower the impact of running while maintaining your cardio exercise.
  • Finalatomicbuster
    Finalatomicbuster Posts: 4
    Options
    Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

    After looking through these suggestions, I am thinking of doing a 4-mile walk everyday and lifting weights afterwards. Walking 4 miles a day can get repetitive, but walking out an enjoying the outdoors is always a perk without putting too much strain on my heel. I will look into the other exercises, though, such as rowing and swimming. For now, I think my schedule is set.

    Thank you, everyone!
  • LessHeavyVeggie
    LessHeavyVeggie Posts: 208 Member
    Options
    Have a look on youtube for workouts. There are a lot you can do at home with no equipment. I've found the BeFit channel quite useful.
  • carlyjaner
    carlyjaner Posts: 36 Member
    Options
    Bump, some of these ideas are great.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    Options
    many runners have taken up cycling and swimming to get in some cross-training and still get cardio in while nursing an injury.
  • GillianMcK
    GillianMcK Posts: 401 Member
    Options
    Depending on what's happened to your ankle, even walking could aggravate it and slow the recovery down, what about aqua-jogging instead, takes all the pressure off the injury, whilst maintaining the muscles that you use for running??

    I hurt my achilles last year and ended up with 2 months off running (I wasn't a nice person for those 2 months), mainly because I tried to maintain my fitness by walking instead of running and had to stop pretty much everything impact.

    Been protective of it this year and done most of my running on the trails instead of tarmac, which seems to have worked (so far, but we're only in June)!!
  • hmroebuck
    hmroebuck Posts: 64 Member
    Options
    Biking! Still lets me get the outdoor time I enjoy.
  • The_Godwin_72
    The_Godwin_72 Posts: 102 Member
    Options
    use this time to branch out to Yoga, weight lifting, intense stretching. Focus on eating and you may find this helpful to breaking up the running routine.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Options
    I'm surprised no one brought this up, but....

    How's your diet, what is your goal intake? You're only about 20 lbs from your goal weight. At this point it will be hard to maintain a 1-2lb loss per week. As you get close to your goal weight, it comes off slower.

    Saying you're eating less, working out harder, then all of a sudden have an injury makes me wonder.......just say'n.

Categories