Severe Ankle Injury - gym work arounds

Par8hed4life
Par8hed4life Posts: 104 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have recently been sidelined in my workout goals. That is putting it mildly. I am basically bed/couch ridden.
I dislocated my ankle and broke it in two places running in the Warrior Dash on the 19th of July, 2014. The following day, I had surgery on my ankle in which 9 screws and a plate were installed.
The hardest part of all of this is knowing that my activity goal for the year has been completely derailed.
My husband and I made a New Years Resolution to run a minimum of a 5K every weekend this year. We pay for two a month and run the rest on our own. Since January, we have run two half marathons, a 15K, a 4 mile trail run, multiple 10K's and even more 5K's. It has been a great goal and has helped us both lose a considerable amount of weight in 6 months.
Now that I am sidelined, I need to come up with something I can do to continue in my weight loss goals and not gain, being basically, bed ridden.

I am on crutches/scooter for the next 9 weeks so I am quite limited. I am reaching out to my MFP community to help me think outside of the box as to things I can do. All I can think of are free weights and the hand bike. Eventually, I believe I will be able to get in the pool, but right now, that isn't an option either,

Any ideas are welcome and I even started a group called "Training with Injuries" for others who are looking for help and work arounds!!

Thanks!

Replies

  • deana727
    deana727 Posts: 55 Member
    One of your posts came up in my search for "warrior dash" and wow, this hits home. I have a Warrior Dash next month in Oregon and a Spartan in 4 days. So first let me say you sound injured but not defeated. I hope I'm someone who turns to forums to find a gym work around if ever I'm sidelined. In a cast. With metal parts holding me together. Wow.

    So sorry this happened to you, but don't be discouraged. Keep logging and eating clean, and don't forget the extra calories you'll burn just getting around on crutches. I'm not a trainer at all, but my thought if it were me would be to follow a program of 3 days each week of upper body and core exercises. To compliment the free weights, you might consider resistance bands and body weight straps like TRX. With some well placed anchors, you can do presses and pull-downs from a seated or declined position. An overhead anchor could be great for pull up exercises. Beast mode in no time.

    Add a stability ball for extra core work if you can do it safely. You can always place it against a wall or use it with a partner. Use it or a chair or cushion to support your legs so you can fire up your ab workouts too. Since you're used to running for cardio, it will be an adjustment. But if you set up circuits and move quickly between exercises, you can keep the heart rate up, high intensity for calorie burn. All that said, rest and recovery are more important than ever. Massage, foam rolling and stretching are your friends. Best of luck, I'm rooting for you!

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