Help! Broken ribs, but I don't want to stop training!

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MitchmDee
MitchmDee Posts: 93 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey,

So last night I took a bit of a spill in a hockey game. Long story short, I've got two broken ribs.

I know I need to let my body rest up, but what can I do in the meantime to not gain weight, or lose the gains I've gotten over the past two months?

Suggestions?

Replies

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    Alter your caloric intake to account for your lower energy needs, make sure you always meet your protein minimums.

    You won't lose muscle overnight. Assuming you're in a caloric deficit, your muscle gains have pretty much been muscle maintenance, so if you do lose a bit of muscle it's not the end of the world. Just get back to normal once healed and then once you've reached your body fat goals, bulk up to gain back any muscle lost.

    Also if you're injured you may want to eat at maintenance. estimate your maintenance from a few calculators (or if you use MFP net method then just eat up to the limit as it takes into account you non-exercise activity levels which should be similar to pre-injury).
  • JayaNagarajan
    JayaNagarajan Posts: 75 Member
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    Add some more protein and lower the sugar a bit and rest. Rest and ice are the two best things for a broken rib.

    I had a bit of an accident in crew a few months ago and broke a rib too. Make sure you're completely healed before starting again, because exercising with a broken rib was a really bad idea on my part. I was part of a race on a super windy day and it took about twice the time to heal than it would have if I didn't. Wait until you're healed and don't freak over losing a bit of muscle.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    walk.

    I just had a cataract operation and can't work out for a week or so and I folded up my bike as a caution. ;-) Today, I walked everywhere I went and burned 150% of my calorie allotment. It won't keep my muscles that active, but it's better than sitting around.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,622 Member
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    Just make sure that you don't exceed your TDEE. Eat over that and you gain weight. Continued training without proper rest for your ribs to heal, will just keep your ribs broken. Do the right thing and let them heal up.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,364 Member
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    Give your ribs time to heal...I fractured a rib recently, very painful and awkward, exercising wasn't even on my radar.

    After five weeks I was much on the improve and able to turn, roll over, and do other things, but for exercise...just walked.
  • Floobaloob
    Floobaloob Posts: 25 Member
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    I broke 2 ribs a couple of summers ago. It happened 7 weeks before a planned half marathon and after I'd just taken 2 weeks off training for a holiday. I just walked for a few weeks, but as I had a half marathon coming up I started running again after that (after OK by doctor). When I started running I couldn't yet do things like sit up normally or roll over.

    Had to start again at a much slower pace than I was used to as I was trying to keep my breathing slow and controlled to stop it hurting too much. Didn't get as much training in as I wanted in the end, but did complete the half marathon and am still pretty proud of that.

    A caveat though, mine took a good 6 months before they felt anywhere near normal again. Might not have taken so long if I had rested properly.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Caloric deficit = weight loss.
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
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    Out of own experience with o so many annoying little injuries.... If you don't let this heal, you'll be only wasting more time....and gains right along with it. Give it some rest, adjust your nutrition. Go for power walks, if you can't sit still. Anything that won't engage your core more than normal daily activities. If you can't pull your weight around the house, such as bending over and picking stuff up, or actually running a vacuum cleaner for once, you don't need to be in the gym.....lol

    Get well soon!
  • MitchmDee
    MitchmDee Posts: 93 Member
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    Thanks guys!

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