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I have a stress fracture in my foot which is dramatically changing what I can do. I'm an avid exerciser and prior to my foot misadventure 6 days a week I did P90X style workouts, kettle bells, lots of walking, intervals, occasional jogging, yoga etc. However, anything that requires significant pressure on my foot is out, I can barely walk even with the walking cast(aka moon boot).

So, I am looking for workout suggestions that involve minimal pressure on my foot...my arms are not broken! I feel like a slug if I don't get in some exercise. It is so depressing not to be able to go for long walks.

I'm on day 37 of the whole30 so at least my diet is dialed in. I have been trying to lose that last 10 vanity pounds for a bit now. I am wondering if part of the reason it has been so resistant to leaving is too much exercise. I still can't wrap my brain around working out less being better for fat loss...damn you conventional wisdom.

Any workout suggestions? I have been doing tons of pushups and pullups. Every time I walk by the pull up bar I do 5. I'm hitting over 50 a day most days. I have 2 pull up bars. One is in the gym which is right near the laundry room and 1 is in a room across from the bathroom so I feel like I am constantly walking by a pull up bar. I have decided perhaps not doing that on the days I am home from work is a good idea because it would get up over 100 pretty easily and as much as I love pull ups...enough is enough.

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If I were in your shoes, I'd probably take it as an opportunity to see if the "too much exercise" issue was my issue, ya know? See if your appetite tracks with a reduced activity level, sleep a lot to heal faster.

I'd miss walks, too. But, find something you've been wanting to get caught up on (crafts, back episodes of Breaking Bad, whatever) and use your relaxation time for that instead. Or do some yoga -- seated and lying poses, inversions if you're up to getting up and down without landing on your bad foot.

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It is really weird when you begin to understand how more exercise sometimes means less health and not more. I

stumbled into the benefits of training less. I found a book entitled Kettlebell Muscle: The Secrets of Compound Kettlebell Lifting for Faster, More Efficient Gains in Strength and Power by Geoff Neupert, Master RKC. I wanted to be stronger and more powerful, so ordered the book and decided to commit to the 12 week program. How could I go wrong following the guidance of a master RKC? It was only after completing the first week of training I realized that my commitment meant training 80 percent less than I had been... down from 7.5 hours per week to 1.5 hours per week. And more than half of that training time of 1.5 hours is warming up! I just completed week 8 on Friday. My strength has been increasing even though I am training so much less. I've made more progress over the past 8 weeks than I made in the 12 weeks before I started the program.

You really do have to make a decision about whether you want to exercise or make meaningful progress in your fitness and health.

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I did yoga every morning last week and it went well with a few modifications for my foot. I am struggling with my typical workout mindset (which I know is out of whack) that if I am not a sweating, drooling mess I didn't work hard enough.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Can you ride a bike? When I sprained my ankle a while back, I found that to be a good alternative to running. I managed one week with no cardio-then I was itchy and bitchy-I need that alone time with my head! Riding my bike got me that and didn't aggravate my ankle. It was also what my doc recommended when I had a stress fracture in my foot a few years back-except I didn't have a bike or gym membership then...it was a long eight weeks! :)

Glad you can do the yoga. I love yoga and should do it more often!

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I do have multiple bikes and a spin bike and my clipless shoes don't seem to aggrevate my foot. My problem is I tend to over do cardio as in "if 30 minutes is good, 90 minutes is better!" So, I have been trying to avoid the bike because I could see myself getting sucked in to the "burn more calories" mindset, especially because I am unable to do much else.

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All great suggestions. I have been foam rolling, doing a few days of power yoga and push-ups/pull-ups like it is a part of my job. I have also been using the TRX and free weights for upper body stuff. I have been doing wall squats and lots of chair poses to try to get my legs into the mix. It's more of a mental agony type of thing at this point, I was very used to taking long walks, running, heavy lifting and plyometrics so now not being able to do those things is wearing on me mentally.

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Prior to my Whole 30 I was constantly working out and trying to lost 10 lbs. During my whole 30 I started working out a lot less, then went on vacation and didn't workout at all. It is really hard to be "okay" with this concept, but my body is so much happier since I slowed down. Rest is so important.

Another thing I came to realize during my W30 was that it is not up to ME how my body is going to change. Sure I can do a bunch of workouts that should give me some kind of result, but that doesn't mean it is going to happen. You can do whatever you want to change your body, but ultimately your body decides if it will change. You probably need more rest. Take the injury as a sign and relax a little. :)

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@ Laura B - I absolutely agree with you that rest is vital. My biggest problem is that I have worked out (almost) daily for over 20 years. I was a high school and college athlete and not working out feels just as strange and wrong to me as not brushing my teeth. I'm working on it but it has been a slow road to accept "less is more" when it comes to exercise.

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