Great Workouts You Can Have While On Crutches
A leg injury is prone to stop you from enjoying the occasional thrill of blood rushing through your veins. You may be disappointed for having to stay home for hours overthinking your workout schedule. However, don’t be sad, as there is always a rainbow after every storm.
Having been through that setback, allows me to demonstrate how you can greatly overcome this situation. Even if you require crutches for mobility, there are plenty of exercises you could do to keep your muscles pumping.
Upper Body Exercises
Perhaps the easiest exercises you could do when dealing with a leg injury are those focusing on the upper body. Most arms routines can be done while sitting on a chair. Even without being able to move that freely, your blood flow will peak in no time. You’ll get a refreshing cardio, and you’ll maintain your hardly-gained strength and keep making great progress. Here are some of the best exercises to choose from:
Bench press
Bicep curls
Hammer curls
Triceps Extension
Dips
Shoulder press
Lateral raises
Lat pulldown
You also can hit arms while being in the comfort of your house. All you need to get a great arm workout, is a couple of dumbbells. If you are willing to workout at home, focus on Bicep curls, Triceps Extension and Shoulder press.
Remember you give yourself enough time to rest and recover. Also, be always careful when dealing with weights to avoid putting too much pressure on your injured leg.
Light Walking
When it comes to walking with a leg injured, it’s advisable that you don’t. However, some cases allow for light walking as it depends on the injury. Light walking can still pass as cardio, and it may even help with recovery because it stimulates blood flow.
On the other hand, walking with crutches is actually a great workout itself. Crutches shift all of your body weight to the upper part of it. Using crutches requires a considerable amount of upper body strength. It keeps your heart rate going and burns a great deal of calories in the process.
Abs and Core Exercises
Having solid core abs and core strength will definitely come in handy when circumstances oblige you to use crutches. A great workout session to enjoy when struggling with a leg injury includes abs and the core. It’s very safe to hit these two muscle groups as all you need to do is lay down and get going. Here is a fine selection of abs and core exercises to ensure you get a rewarding session
Crunches
Sit-ups
Russian twists
Side toe touches
Planks (if possible)
It is recommended that you combine abs and core exercises with your upper body training.
Cardio Exercises
As mentioned above, walking with crutches can be considered as a fantastic form of cardio. It makes your heart pumping and lungs working and keeps you in great shape. In addition, training your upper body and lifting weights also grants the same effects.
A great trick to get your heart rate up, is to implement different training techniques, like super-sets and drop-sets for example. These techniques require you to do multiple exercises back to back with limited resting time. You could have an intense workout which will not only help you build muscle, but also build up your endurance.
The truth is, there isn’t much cardio exercises you could do while on crutches, as your mobility is restrained. You may try to walk faster or climb stairs again and again. However, there are some risks to that which would be best if you avoid them.
With that being said, a great suggestion for an amazing cardio session is to get an Upper Body Ergometer. This is basically a bicycle for your whole upper body. It strengthens your arm muscles, tests your cardiovascular endurance and makes you sweat in no time.
Leg Exercises
Here is where it gets tricky. To exercise your legs, you need to put so much pressure on them. Most leg exercises require you to work with heavy weights. However, pushing weight with an injured leg is next to impossible, and will slow down the recovery process.
If your injury allows for light weight-bearing, you could try some leg lifting movements. You may also have the option of using resistance bands.
Although, before trying any type of leg training, check with your doctor first. It is recommended that you don’t attempt any leg workout while on crutches as it might make things worse.
Aquatic Exercises
Now this is a great gym alternative you could enjoy and help keep your body fit while on crutches. A pool could offer so many exercises for you to choose from. When you step into the pool, the water keeps you from putting much of your body weight on your legs. In addition, water resistance will make some of the exercises you used to do much harder.
Aquatic exercises are great for cardio and help build your body strength and endurance. The water forces you to use more muscle groups and thus burn extra calories. Also, it helps with healing of joint injuries. To train your legs, you could immerse yourself until your waist and simply walk back and forth. Ask your doctor if this type of training is suitable for your injury first before you visit the pool.
Full-Body Chair Exercises
You may wonder how is it possible to have a full body workout using only a chair? Well, here is how. Even with a leg injury, you could work on your strength, cardio and flexibility. However, always keep in mind that it all depends on your injury. You may find some exercises to be doable, and some maybe quite challenging.
We provided you with a great place where you could get started. Check this workout for some of the greatest exercises you could try with only one chair.
Yoga
Yoga is also a great alternative you could resolve to while dealing with an injured leg. It goes without saying that you won’t be able to perform every exercise in the book. However, there are still quite a few you could work with.
Yoga can be beneficial both for your body and for your mental health. It could help you deal with all the frustration you may deal with while on crutches. It also keeps your body well stretched and fit. Here is this helpful sequence for a great start.
Swimming
Swimming requires full body engagement. It’s not only about the arms, your core, legs and ankles have a lot to do with it. You also need your legs to keep your body floating. Give your doctor a call and ask whether it’s possible for you to swim. He may approve it if your injury is healed enough, but always remember to proceed with caution.
Final Words
As you could see, you don’t have to stop working out while on crutches.You could still manage to get intense and refreshing workouts even with a broken leg.
Before doing anything, make sure you get your doctor’s approval. Furthermore, carefully proceed with each exercise and the weights you use, and be sure to get enough rest.