Low impact exercise - Please!

Posts: 1,404
5/8/12 10:47 P

I agree with the advice to just stay off of it for now. You said it has been bad for 5 days so if you can afford to have it checked out that would be best as it should at least be kinda better by now.

If it is swollen make sure to ice it down at night. I use to think that only worked in the first 24 hours but my PT said it helps if swelling is present even if it's an older injury.

Btw, when you do have time to go to the gym you could try water aerobics. At my gym it's mostly upper middle age and elderly women who are just wanting to stay active and doesn't seem like they'd judge anyone for how they look and at most gyms the locker room is right next to the pool so it's not like many people will see you outside of the class (and people really don't care anyway).

Posts: 53
5/8/12 10:27 P

I appreciate all the advice. I have only been walking on the treadmill no running. I hadn't started strength training as that was part of my second step once I got fitness as part of my regular routine. I'm just starting my 4th week on this program. To start I only did 10 or 15 minutes. I've worked up to doing 30-45 minutes 5 days a week.

I will give my knee some more time to recover and in the mean time try some low impact training and start focusing on how to start adding strength training into my fitness plan when I can.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out.

-Sherri.

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5/8/12 9:31 P

No situps... in addition to being a terrible exercise that puts unnecessary strain on your back, it's a strength exercise, and as such, you can't really track calorie burn with it. It does burn calories, but not the way cardio does. You also need to take the strain off that knee, and rest before you do more serious injury... listen to the pain! It's telling you to back up. Don't try to "work through it."

Check out the Sparkpeople fitness section for suggestions; looking for "low impact cardio" got me this one for you: www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_artic
les.asp?id=1731

Are you doing any strength training? You don't mention that. Strength training is a critical part of a complete exercise program. Strength training helps make your cardio more effective, and makes the fat you do have look better on your body. It also helps you burn more calories at rest. :)

I also notice you say you're doing the treadmill 5 days a week? It's best to work up to that level of activity... were you running or walking? How long have you been doing that?

It's best to start out slow... Sparkpeople recommends 30 minutes, 3 times week to start out. Once you get used to that, you can start adding more cardio. When I first got started, it was hard on me to do that 30 minutes... but now, I'm doing 1-2 hours a day, 5 times a week, and I love it!

Edited by: DRAGONCHILDE at: 5/8/2012 (21:32)

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5/8/12 9:27 P

Hi SWALLIS7,

If your knee is really sore, rest may be best for now. Even though you will be missing a few workout sessions, by allowing time for your knee to recover you may be able to get back to your routine versus pushing through a little injury now and potentially doing further damage.

My running coach likens this to like a chip in your windshield. If you take time to get that chip fix now you avoid that chip from turning into a giant crack which may require you to have your whole windshield replaced. Same is true for an injury. By taking a few days of rest now, hopefully you'll be back to where you need to be in a few days.

If your knee is really bothering you, calling your doctor may be an option.

I wish you a SPEEDY recovery!

Coach Nancy

Posts: 53
5/8/12 8:49 P

I need some ideas on what kind of exercise would be recommended to get my weekly burn in that would be low impact on my knee. For the past four weeks I've been using a treadmill and stationary bike to hit my fitness goals. At 266 pounds at start I needed something my body could handle. This was working quite nice until I think I pushed too much with the treadmill and an incline. For about the past 5 days my knee is so sore its all I can do just to walk at a very slow pace of about 2 mph.

I'm looking for suggestions of any other exercise activity I can do at home while I allow my knee to heal. I've thought about sit-ups or something like that but I'm not coming up with enough ideas. Guess that's because I'm still learning.

I work about 12 hours a day so by the time I get home its dinner then workout time. Not enough time in my day to go to the gym for a swim or anything...not like I'm ready to be seen in public in a swimming suit yet anyways.

I would appreciate any suggestions you may have!