Fitness ideas please

mrsjowest5166
mrsjowest5166 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 29 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all
I’m a month into healthy eating and fitness and have been doing well.
I started the couch to 5K app and was enjoying the challenge but now I have a knee injury :(
How can I keep up my fitness without further impact on my knee?
Jo

Replies

  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,267 Member
    Sorry to hear. Injuries are the worst! Do you have a way you can swim? Elliptical? Bike? depending on the injury you can keep those up without much impact.
  • mrsjowest5166
    mrsjowest5166 Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you for replying Amgreenwell.
    I can’t really afford a gym membership.
    Hoping for some free activities/ideas.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Go test ride a bunch of bikes. :wink:
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    What kind of knee injury?
    Does walking fast also hurt?
    How about cycling?

    (My knees are a bit of a mess but I can cycle lots with no reaction from my collection of knee injuries.
    Impact activities though (such as running) hurt me at very. very low volume.)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Another for cycling...

    A friend of mine tore her meniscus running and she started cycling and it looks like they can avoid surgery.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    mrsjowest5166 wrote: »
    Hi all
    I’m a month into healthy eating and fitness and have been doing well.
    I started the couch to 5K app and was enjoying the challenge but now I have a knee injury :(
    How can I keep up my fitness without further impact on my knee?
    Jo

    Fix the knee, don't just find something else to do...
  • _nikkiwolf_
    _nikkiwolf_ Posts: 1,380 Member
    Lot's of cardio exercises you could try: https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/the-best-cardio-exercises-for-bad-knees - figure out what works for you without hurting your knee further!

    And I agree with the above poster: "fix" the knee. How did you injure it in the first place? Bit by bit due to overtraining, or did you have a fall / tear something / ...?
    If it's due to overtraining, consider doing some strength training exercises ( e.g. those : https://blog.mapmyrun.com/10-exercises-to-prevent-runners-knee/ ) , make sure not to increase speed and distance too aggressively when you start running again.
  • UltraRunnerGale
    UltraRunnerGale Posts: 346 Member
    Are you sure it's a knee injury?? A couple of years ago I was running and suddenly my knees were absolutely killing me. It got to the point that I could barely walk. Turned out to be IT Bands!! They were so tight that they caused knee pain. That's a much easier fix than most!!
  • Avidkeo
    Avidkeo Posts: 3,211 Member
    Check your shoes. Knee pain is often from. Wearing the wrong shoes. If you are going to. Run, go and get properly fitted for decent shoes
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    My response to these queries is always "swimming."
    Zero impact. And you really work the whole body.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,749 Member
    I second the recommendation to check your shoes. If they are old or if they are the wrong kind, then that can cause knee problems. Check online for exercises for runners knee to strengthen the muscles around your knee. Does walking hurt? That's great exercise and will help prepare your muscles, tendons and joints for the stresses of running. If you can't walk, then do you have access to a stationary bike? If you keep the tension low, you should be able to cycle without hurting your knee. Upper body exercises are good. Do you have hand weights? Yoga and pilates will help stretch out the muscles in your legs and strengthen them so you can return to running when the pain is gone.
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    I used to power walk every day. I decided to try running one day and jacked my right knee up pretty good. The doc said he didn't see or feel anything out of place, and just take it easy on it for a while.

    So I just went back to power walking. Well it was more like power limping, but it was fully healed up within a month. I started running again, but did it the right way this time, and now i can run up to 5 miles at a slow pace.
  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
    First, do you know what your knee injury is? If you haven't seen a doctor, it should be your first step to find out if there is something serious wrong.

    A kettlebell is an inexpensive investment with plenty of online "classes". Yoga is a good option to help you increase balance, flexibility, and core strength. There are limitless options available for yoga and pilates online. Pop Pilates is one of my favorites. Buy an inexpensive yoga mat and go for it. If walking doesn't make your knee hurt, try the Leslie Sansone walking videos from YouTube. You can get in a good cardio workout with very little impact by walking.
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