[vertigoskyy]

I was running last night and ran through a dark area where I didn't see a hole, & messed up my ankle. I got x-rays today and they said it wasn't broke, but I missed it up pretty bad. I have an air cast on & crutches. They said it could be 3-6 weeks to heal. I hope it heals much faster, but does anyone have any ideas of exercise I can do in the mean time? I don't want to slack off, and this really puts a damper on my losing 10 pounds before a wedding I'm going to in 8 weeks. Probably won't be happening now. All I can think of is to do arms & abs toning. Grr...I was supposed to start P90X today too.

[Jennifer 3FC]

Do you have a Wii? Boxing wears me out! At my old gym, they had a bike to pedal with the arms. I don't know the official name for it, but it was basically a bike wheel in an enclosed case, and you sat on it and pedaled with your arms.
Weight lifting is also a good calorie burner. You could safely work everything from the buns - up.

[jkraft219]

im in the same boat as you with the injury.. took a nasty fall one night but actually broke my ankel and fracture my foot. Ive been on crutches for the last 8 weeks if you have wii fit they actually have alot on strength training and yoga that you dont need to be on your feet for. Also my boyfriend is in the army and taught me a few exercises, i do them with one of the big exercise stay balls to make them more intense. but basically the first one i do he calls the jackknife

lay on your back completely straight hands streched out above your head holding the ball... crunch in and bend your legs and the needs and bring it up to your chest while your lift your arms with the ball down to your feet... hard to explain but when your in positon you should look like your almost crawled into a ball.... when you go back to starting position dont let your feed tough the ground.

next one is leg lifts
lay on your back and life your legs a few inches off the ground.... then (i dont know what he goes by but) a few seconds later lift your legs straight up to be in like an l shape then a few seconds later lower your legs back but dont touch the ground

the next one is "flutterkicks" ( gotta love US army)
this is painful to me, not cause of my injury though lol, you lay flat on your back, lift your legs a few inches off the ground.. keep your hands at your side and kick your legs up and down almost like your swiming... he tells me when its getting too difficult to go into a bicycle position for a min in between, like just stay laid on your back and move your legs like your pedaling a bike. ( he has me do these for 10 minutes so the bicycle break is definantly needed!)

and then actually just last night i was watching that new kristie alley reality show and saw her training having her do things that i could do with one leg. both involving an exercise ball if you dont have one get one there awesome!

but he had her have your back on the ball feet stationed on the floor (which i can do now cause there is nomore pain) and he just rolls his hips like you would do if.... your were doing a hula hoop.. just on the ball and slower lol works your abs and obliques.

and then just push ups with your legs on the ball and arms holding you up. and then always your stomach can be on the ball balancing while yuo lift 3-5 lbs dumbells.

hope this helps... goodluck & heal fast... iknow crutches are a pain in the

god bless
Joan

[ennay]

If you have dry smooth pavement, crutching can be quite a workout. But work up to it, you need to be careful not to put pressure on the armpit which is easy to do when you are tired. And be prepared for some bruising on the ribs right about bra level. I was on crutches for 3 months and worked up to 60 minute crutching walks around the neighborhood. I could fly, I worked up to big full swings.

I am assuming you have the full boot size aircast. If your doc will allow in a couple weeks see if you can get the smaller splint style to wear in the pool.

You do NOT want to kick, but a pull buoy between the legs to float the hips can let you swim quite a bit.

Between crutching and pull only swimming I had killer arms when I finally came off crutches.

Also google "seated aerobics" or "chair aerobics"- there is usually quite a bit out there.

[Hopeful8]

I'm so sorry to hear about your injury. Injuring your ankle is the worst. 2 years ago I had my right ankle reconstructed for the 2nd time. I tore my achilles, my calcineous fibular ligament, and my anterior talo-fibular ligament, as well as breaking my ankle in two places. I had part of my talus bone removed and replaced w/titanium, I had 4 bone anchors put into place, and they removed viable ligaments from my knee to replace the ones in my ankle.

After the first two weeks passed and I could stand to move around with minimal pain I started going back to the gym. I was on crutches for about 3 months so I just hopped around the gym and did everything I could that didn't put stress on my ankle.

I hope you're feeling better soon.

[vertigoskyy]

Originally Posted by Jennifer 3FC

Do you have a Wii? Boxing wears me out!

I do, I love Gold's Cardio Boxing. It would be doable sitting down I think. Or maybe just putting a chair under my hurt leg to kneel on. Thanks.

Originally Posted by jkraft219

Also my boyfriend is in the army and taught me a few exercises, i do them with one of the big exercise stay balls to make them more intense. but basically the first one i do he calls the jackknife

lay on your back completely straight hands streched out above your head holding the ball... crunch in and bend your legs and the needs and bring it up to your chest while your lift your arms with the ball down to your feet... hard to explain but when your in positon you should look like your almost crawled into a ball.... when you go back to starting position dont let your feed tough the ground.

next one is leg lifts
lay on your back and life your legs a few inches off the ground.... then (i dont know what he goes by but) a few seconds later lift your legs straight up to be in like an l shape then a few seconds later lower your legs back but dont touch the ground

the next one is "flutterkicks" ( gotta love US army)
this is painful to me, not cause of my injury though lol, you lay flat on your back, lift your legs a few inches off the ground.. keep your hands at your side and kick your legs up and down almost like your swiming... he tells me when its getting too difficult to go into a bicycle position for a min in between, like just stay laid on your back and move your legs like your pedaling a bike. ( he has me do these for 10 minutes so the bicycle break is definantly needed!)
:

Jackknifes are one of my favorite and most hated exercises. Love it because it works. Hate it because it hurts! LoL. Though I do mine differently than you described. It's less of a curl into a ball, and more of a V shape. Either way, ankle isn't well enough for this yet, but hopefully in a few days.

Flutterkicks are pretty killer. My ex-husband is a Marine, I used to do all kinds of crazy exercises with him. Grueling training!

Thanks for your input!

[vertigoskyy]

Originally Posted by ennay

If you have dry smooth pavement, crutching can be quite a workout. But work up to it, you need to be careful not to put pressure on the armpit which is easy to do when you are tired. And be prepared for some bruising on the ribs right about bra level. I was on crutches for 3 months and worked up to 60 minute crutching walks around the neighborhood. I could fly, I worked up to big full swings.

It's only been 3 days and my armpit areas are killing me. I specifically make sure to put the pressure on my arms and not there, but it still hurts. I can't imagine 3 months!

[ennay]

Originally Posted by vertigoskyy

It's only been 3 days and my armpit areas are killing me. I specifically make sure to put the pressure on my arms and not there, but it still hurts. I can't imagine 3 months!

It's like riding a bike...literally. If I went out on a bike right now having not ridden in 2+ years, my butt would be sore and bruised the next day. But if you do it everyday, eventually you break it in. By the end of 3 months I had pits of steel

Did they size your crutches correctly? Make sure they arent too long. You really want to make sure you are hitting the upper ribcage, not the pit.