Cardio ideas for a broken ankle

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mandijo
mandijo Posts: 618 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone!
It's been awhile since I've been on the forums, but I shattered my ankle during the Warrior Dash at the beginning of this month and 2 surgeries, 2 plates and 13 screws later, I'm stuck here in a splint waiting to get a cast. I know that I have a long haul ahead of me. Before the accident, my exercise routine consisted of doing zumba 2-3 days a week and walking/running 2-3 days a week. I will not be weight bearing for at least 6-8 weeks. I'm hoping to focus on some swimming once I have a boot and my ortho allows it, but for now I'm no weight bearing and 3.5 weeks without exercise and home cooked meals from friends and family. I need some help.

I'm feeling incredibly down in the dumps. Exercise empowered me and made me feel strong. I feel weak and need to be able to maintain where I'm at until I'm able to put weight on this ankle. Any suggestions for cardio would be incredibly appreciated. Thank you so much!
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Replies

  • CrystalT
    CrystalT Posts: 862 Member
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    Maybe you can try shadow boxing while sitting. It may sound funny, but moving your arms around like that will give you some exercise.
  • chocolateandpb
    chocolateandpb Posts: 453 Member
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    I was also going to suggest shadow boxing. Can you ride a stationary bike, like a recumbent style, where you use your non-broken leg to do most of the work? Or would that just lead to a growth of totally unbalanced leg muscles? Hmm. You should probably ask your doctor what he or she suggests.
  • logicman69
    logicman69 Posts: 1,034 Member
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    I think a broken ankle counts as one of those "Stay home and rest" type situations....

    BUT, if you do need to get out and do something, what about going for a "walk" on the crutches? I remember when I was on crutches (which was quite often in my youth.. the hazards of extreme skiing) I would get a great upper body workout when walking on crutches. You would be surprised on how challenging a mile can be on the "sticks" can be.

    beyond that, you can try light weight at a fast pace. 5-10lbs
  • moopity
    moopity Posts: 54 Member
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    I'm so sorry to hear about your injury! As one who's had my share (and who is still recovering from a leg injury from months ago), I understand how frustrating and debilitating it can be -- and on so many levels.

    I urge you to start strength training -- you can do sets of push ups, pull ups, sit ups, etc...there is so much you can do through strength training that will not only burn calories and dip into cardio, but you'll also strengthen your body and keep it from atrophying (muscle shrinking from no usage), while avoiding the broken ankle.

    Do you have a trainer you like working with -- or do you have access to one? I would highly recommend finding a knowledgeable and accredited fitness professional to help structure your new routine. A physiotherapist/physical therapist could also help you with this (beyond strengthening your ankle once you can tolerate weight bearing).

    Good luck and please keep us posted on your progress!!
  • charliefocus
    charliefocus Posts: 36 Member
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    hey i hope you feel better soon and are on the mend! i had major knee surgery in Feb - and in April I started a seated cardio routine, and used the arm bike -- and then moved on to silly dancing in my chair cardio using a heart rate monitor. you can use 3lb-10lbs weights and move your legs a bit by tapping them on the floor.
    there are a bunch of youtube videos (seated cardio workouts) and some DVDs on amazon, some are way too slow and 'silver sneaker'-like but there was a boxing dvd i really liked.

    take time healing and dont rush it, pretty soon you will be in PT? they can let you know what other exercises you can do too..

    abs
    dips
    seated cardio

    good luck! and wishing you a speedy recovery.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    could you do kickboxing type upper body moves while seated? google wheelchair exercises/ seated exercises and see if there is anything that will work for you...
  • javamonster
    javamonster Posts: 272 Member
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    I fractured and dislocated my ankle as a teen (ruptured tendons and ligaments too, fun)...surgery, hardware, etc. Are you on crutches? I got pretty good with them and could get a good workout just....well, I guess it's not exactly walking! Great for building upper body strength, too. If you can just get outside where there's some room to safely motor, you're good.
  • Sinisi2012
    Sinisi2012 Posts: 333 Member
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    Look up exercises for wheelchair bound people. Try a rowing machine or one of those machines that you use your arms to "pedal"
  • moopity
    moopity Posts: 54 Member
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    On paper this sounds like a great idea, however when I was on crutches, I over did it and then got other injuries from overcompensating. In other words, because my shoulders were not used to supporting my body on crutches, I ended up hurting my shoulders. I understand this is pretty common, so it might benefit you (or anyone!) to be extra careful when starting out on crutches because the body is not used to the muscle demands.
  • peacelovelose
    peacelovelose Posts: 64 Member
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    Boxing workouts while sitting could be a good way to get cardio. Also, you could use this time to work on abs/upper body strength training - anything that doesn't strain the lower body (like crunches) is still on the table! You could even create a sort of mini-circuit, and if you're able to switch exercises fast enough you can elevate your heart rate beyond what it normally is for standard crunches/knee pushups/curls/etc.
    Also, these websites seem to have more useful advice than me... haha :)

    http://www.ehow.com/how_5669543_exercise-broken-ankle.html
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/476171-upper-body-cardio-workout-with-a-broken-ankle/

    Hoping for your speedy recovery :)
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    I'm sorry to hear of your injury. I suffered a very bad sprain a few months ago during exercise and am still recovering. I think you should focus on monitoring your calorie intake until you can be more active. You might want to do some upper body work, but you'll find that most exercises require some lower body involvement.
  • RAQUELINATOVAR
    RAQUELINATOVAR Posts: 221 Member
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    take a cruise and walk around on the boat in circles. that sounds wonderful to me !!!!
  • kiminikimkim
    kiminikimkim Posts: 746 Member
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    I would probably do a lot of meditation. It is actually pretty hard to do, especially 30mins.

    I know it isn't cardio but it does the body a lot of good.

    There are a lot of core exercises in Pilates that could be good as well.
  • trybabytry
    trybabytry Posts: 181
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    Going up and down stairs on crutches is an incredible ab workout, as I'm sure you'll involuntarily find...
  • jeffrodgers1
    jeffrodgers1 Posts: 991 Member
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    Not sure how bad your leg is, but I'm recovering from an ankle injury myself. I have been using a rowing machine, swimming ( I have no cast) and cycling. Shadow boxing can be a great workout as well.

    My Physio just gave me the green light to resume some light intervals (3 minutes walk, 1 minute run)... so I'm hoping to back to my running routine soon.
  • Pilotgirl86
    Pilotgirl86 Posts: 30
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    I 100% feel your pain! I had surgery to repair torn ligaments in my ankle 6 weeks ago, and I am have only been weight bearing (with a walking cast) for 2 weeks. I have 2 more weeks in the cast, and then I can hopefully get back at it! I was also super active (I planned on running 5 x 10km races this summer in a summer race series, and then had to cancel). My best advice, take it easy for a couple of weeks, don't try to push the injury (that's how I ended up needing surgery this time. I didn't let previous injuries heal properly, and instead I ended up tearing two ligaments - I fractured my ankle, and had two very bad sprains but I was anxious to get back in my runners, and all I ended up doing was exacerbating things and now I'm off my feet three times as long!)).

    I actually lost weight since my surgery (although I know most of it is muscle mass), but my pants are also not any tighter than they were 6 weeks ago, and I've been keeping up some of my fitness. Feed the home cooked family meals to your kids, and make sure you eat super healthy. I always made sure I had a smoothie for breakfast (I prepped and froze individual smoothie servings before I had surgery, so all I have to do it dump the ziploc bag into my blender, add yogourt and some juice and voila!) I also usually add wheat germ or a couple spoonfuls of bran to my smoothie as well (helps to keep you regular if you are taking pain killers).

    I also got my husband to prep me lots of healthy snack (veggie trays, washed berries & cut up fruit, lean meats, rice cakes etc), so that I always had healthy snacks. I found when I was recovering I didn`t want to be standing much, so it was much easier to grab a box of crackers and peanut butter than to make myself something.

    I also ate a lot of salads (I would get my husband to cook extra chicken, or pork at dinner, and then it was easy for me to just add some of that to lettuce and pre-cut veggies).

    I`ve done a lot of arms & abs while recovering as well. I put my feet up on a stool, and go through my "Ab Workout" app on my iPhone. I can say my abs have certainly gotten tighter since surgery! I also do a lot of arms. Lie flat on my back, or in a back bridge once I was weight bearing (knees bent with your feet by your bum, lift your body off the floor, so only your shoulders and feet touch the floor). You can do chest flies, straight presses, arms above your head etc. I also can see that my arms are WAY more toned than before too!

    Lastly, I still tracked everything. I felt that although I knew I wasn`t getting the high paced cardio I was used to, I should still keep track of what I was eating. It certainly helped, and I felt that it made a huge difference!

    I know this isn't a cardio solution, but until you can weight bear, or swim, its pretty tough to get things in. I started swimming last week, and on the stationary bike as well, and I was pleasantly surprised that my fitness level wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    Time for some core work and lifting. Use your cardio downtime to get the core and upper body worked up. Squats may be a no-no, but would planks and sit-ups or crunches work? If you can get access to a physical therapist, ask about what you can do.

    Also, the legs are the most efficient for cardio since they are huge and burn tons of calories, but the arm muscles aren't too bad. Shadow boxing, or just flapping your arms up and down like a bird. Lift some 5# weights while sitting. Work your way up on the crutches to walking long distances (good workout for the upper body).

    Moving = good.
  • jperrysunlover
    jperrysunlover Posts: 96 Member
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    Sorry to hear about your ankle! I broke mine earlier in the year. I was a Zumba and Spin instructor, so this was very frustrating! I went to physical therapy and had a program created for me that I could do mainly lying down and on an exercise ball. I actually gained muscle, kept my abs, and my glutes got tighter! Ask your doctor for a prescription and it would only take a few sessions to get a tailored program for you!

    I could dig mine out of the archives if you want some ideas!
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
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    Pilates floor workouts would probably good. And like other people said just walking on crutches is a work out in itself. I was on crutches every year in high school, and I tell ya, every time I had amazing arms ;) lol
  • marmar2903
    marmar2903 Posts: 13 Member
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    I am sort of in the same boat. I had to have surgery on a torn tendon in my foot. I have been non-weight bearing for 2 weeks now with at least 2 more to go. I have been really trying to watch my calorie intake, but am just afraid will gain more weight, which is so not needed. Sorry I don't have any suggestions- just thought might help to know someone feels your pain :)

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