Hello,
I am recovering from two injuries, a bone infection in my left ankle and a lower back injury (that doctors and specialists weren’t able to diagnose). The lower back injury has been an ongoing thing for about two and a half years now while the bone infection is a few months old.
My problem is that at the moment my ankle prevents me from doing any cardio as it a very restrictive injury. Aggravating my ankle (quite easy to do) effectively immobilizes me for the following few days, which is unacceptable as I have to use my ankle four times a week (to go to university and get groceries). My ankle is also currently preventing me from doing things like lunges and ‘step ups’, basically anything that uses my ankle for more than simply standing there is, for now, off the table.
I also have trouble using weights as my core is not strong enough to sufficiently support my back, which has a consistent history of being ‘thrown out’ for about a week when seriously aggravated.
I have been told by my doctor that it is now at the point that time on its own might not heal my back to the point that I can do a full day’s work. At the end of 2012 (possibly 2011) I will be leaving university and my back as it is would severely restrict my options. I am told that two things will help me, being fitter/stronger and losing weight.
To an extent I am in a catch 22 situation, my injuries prevent me from doing the most helpful type of exercise for losing weight (cardio, I assume) and I need to lose weight to alleviate my injuries. My understanding is that eating better will be the biggest factor in losing weight and if things in that department do not go well I may post about that here too, but at the moment my changing of my eating habits are going well. Despite this success, my understanding is that living such a sedentary lifestyle will slow my attempts to lose weight even while I am eating healthily.
So, my plan at the moment is to strengthen my core and once this is eventually strengthened sufficiently I will be able to start using weights to strengthen the rest of my body. I’m also hoping that the strengthening of my core will help my back with the slight ‘twisting’ motion that takes place during swimming (when turning to breath), which at the moment aggravates my back.
I am currently working with the following core workout, but have not been doing it for long:
3x10 ab crunches (on a swiss ball)
3x5 squats (with my back against a swiss ball)
3x5 ‘roll to press’ (push ups with your legs on a swiss ball)
3x5 ‘bridge T fall off’ (rolling from one side to another on a swiss ball)
3x5 ‘Hip extensions with knee flex’ (lying with my back on the ground and legs on a swiss ball, pulling the ball towards myself)
1x4 ‘ ball push downs’ (sitting and pushing down on a ball with an arm while tensing stomache muscles)
3x5 ‘russian twist’ (twisting from side to side while on a swiss ball).
Doing this work out gets a bit of a sweat going and feels really good.
This is not a workout that I was given specifically for my back, it is just those exercises that I used to do before hurting my back that I can still do.
I am starting from a very low level of fitness with restrictive injuries, but it has now been made clear to me (by the passing of time and, mainly, my doctor) that if I am going to recover from my injuries it is going to be through increasing my strength in key areas and my fitness. Unfortunately it looks like simply waiting isn’t going to work (which was the first assumption from the specialists). Any advice, links or discussion that can help me get started would be much appreciated.
At the moment I have no exact idea of what different types of exercise will aid me the most except that anything that enables me to do more with my back will vastly increase the types of exercise I can do. Because of this I think strengthening my core will have large benefits, but this is not something I am certain of.
I have access to:
A dumbbell set (though back prevents me from using it in normal ways)
A swiss ball
About three square meters of free space
In about a month and a half to two months (given current ankle healing rate, maybe sooner) a swimming pool that is currently out of my walking distance with no buses that go there.
Hopefully by February next year a full gym (with lots of workout machines/weights/bikes/ect), depending how my ankle heals.
Thanks again for any help! Sorry that what I wrote ended up being so long.
I am recovering from two injuries, a bone infection in my left ankle and a lower back injury (that doctors and specialists weren’t able to diagnose). The lower back injury has been an ongoing thing for about two and a half years now while the bone infection is a few months old.
My problem is that at the moment my ankle prevents me from doing any cardio as it a very restrictive injury. Aggravating my ankle (quite easy to do) effectively immobilizes me for the following few days, which is unacceptable as I have to use my ankle four times a week (to go to university and get groceries). My ankle is also currently preventing me from doing things like lunges and ‘step ups’, basically anything that uses my ankle for more than simply standing there is, for now, off the table.
I also have trouble using weights as my core is not strong enough to sufficiently support my back, which has a consistent history of being ‘thrown out’ for about a week when seriously aggravated.
I have been told by my doctor that it is now at the point that time on its own might not heal my back to the point that I can do a full day’s work. At the end of 2012 (possibly 2011) I will be leaving university and my back as it is would severely restrict my options. I am told that two things will help me, being fitter/stronger and losing weight.
To an extent I am in a catch 22 situation, my injuries prevent me from doing the most helpful type of exercise for losing weight (cardio, I assume) and I need to lose weight to alleviate my injuries. My understanding is that eating better will be the biggest factor in losing weight and if things in that department do not go well I may post about that here too, but at the moment my changing of my eating habits are going well. Despite this success, my understanding is that living such a sedentary lifestyle will slow my attempts to lose weight even while I am eating healthily.
So, my plan at the moment is to strengthen my core and once this is eventually strengthened sufficiently I will be able to start using weights to strengthen the rest of my body. I’m also hoping that the strengthening of my core will help my back with the slight ‘twisting’ motion that takes place during swimming (when turning to breath), which at the moment aggravates my back.
I am currently working with the following core workout, but have not been doing it for long:
3x10 ab crunches (on a swiss ball)
3x5 squats (with my back against a swiss ball)
3x5 ‘roll to press’ (push ups with your legs on a swiss ball)
3x5 ‘bridge T fall off’ (rolling from one side to another on a swiss ball)
3x5 ‘Hip extensions with knee flex’ (lying with my back on the ground and legs on a swiss ball, pulling the ball towards myself)
1x4 ‘ ball push downs’ (sitting and pushing down on a ball with an arm while tensing stomache muscles)
3x5 ‘russian twist’ (twisting from side to side while on a swiss ball).
Doing this work out gets a bit of a sweat going and feels really good.
This is not a workout that I was given specifically for my back, it is just those exercises that I used to do before hurting my back that I can still do.
I am starting from a very low level of fitness with restrictive injuries, but it has now been made clear to me (by the passing of time and, mainly, my doctor) that if I am going to recover from my injuries it is going to be through increasing my strength in key areas and my fitness. Unfortunately it looks like simply waiting isn’t going to work (which was the first assumption from the specialists). Any advice, links or discussion that can help me get started would be much appreciated.
At the moment I have no exact idea of what different types of exercise will aid me the most except that anything that enables me to do more with my back will vastly increase the types of exercise I can do. Because of this I think strengthening my core will have large benefits, but this is not something I am certain of.
I have access to:
A dumbbell set (though back prevents me from using it in normal ways)
A swiss ball
About three square meters of free space
In about a month and a half to two months (given current ankle healing rate, maybe sooner) a swimming pool that is currently out of my walking distance with no buses that go there.
Hopefully by February next year a full gym (with lots of workout machines/weights/bikes/ect), depending how my ankle heals.
Thanks again for any help! Sorry that what I wrote ended up being so long.