# training with broken foot..



## vanessa5691 (Sep 18, 2007)

I broke a metatarsal bone in my left foot last week, and I'm going to be in a cast for 2-4 weeks.. I can't put any weight on my foot at all.

Just wondering if you guys had and ideas on what would be the best exercise routine to go by.. to try and maintain..

Would upper body weights every day be alright? If I work on different muscle groups every other day? I could do core exercises as well, but as for cardio I guess I'll have to put off   (theres no rowing machine in the gym I go to)


----------



## DOMS (Sep 18, 2007)

Just stop working out.  Give your body the time it needs to heal _correctly_.  You're probably not going to lose much by taking a month off.  Hell, I just came back from a month off (pulled a muscle in my lumbar region) and I didn't lose much, if any, strength.  Of course, you mileage may vary.  You could be a hard-gaining ectomorph.  Even if you do lose 10% or more on the layoff, muscle memory will help you to get it back quickly enough.

Besides, you'd be surprised how much you use your feet during upper body training.  Consider that, with proper form, a good bench press starts by pushing your feet into the ground.

There are plenty of things that you can do in the realm of dieting that can help to mitigate muscle loss.

It's simply not worth the risk of aggravating your injured foot (which may mean it'll take longer to heal) when you'll only be able to do a half-assed workout anyway.


----------



## DanK (Sep 18, 2007)

I think taking some time to heal is good and all (especially the first week or so) but I also think you should remain active... a bit harder when you ding your foot up. Whatever you do, you should keep it light. I'd go with some body weight routines, dips, pullups, leg lifts, stuff like that. If you do pullups or dips make sure you dont' have to drop down to get out of doing the exercise.

When it comes to weight lifting your foot is kind of critical in the very least for keeping you planted where you are at even for things like bench. You are probably supposed to keep that foot elevated most of the time right now.


----------



## Witchblade (Sep 18, 2007)

I'd take 2 weeks off and then see if you can do some upper body work.


----------



## min0 lee (Sep 18, 2007)

Have to give her credit for not being a quiter, most people look for excuses not to train.

She's tougher than some men I know. Girl power!


----------



## DanK (Sep 18, 2007)

I'm more prone to put off weight lifting over a minor hand injury (ie cutting the inside of my hand or having a severe blister from doin some serious manual labor) than from a "real" injury. A real injury is going to be around for a while so you can't really let it limit you if you can help it.


----------



## vanessa5691 (Sep 18, 2007)

min0 lee said:


> Have to give her credit for not being a quiter, most people look for excuses not to train.
> 
> She's tougher than some men I know. Girl power!





haha thankss

and thanks for the advice everyone.. im going to do some basic exercises for now, nothing too hard, and then try to build up from there depending on how im feeling.

as for my diet, should it cut cals since I'll be exercising much less? maybe lower carbs?

thanks again


----------



## DanK (Sep 18, 2007)

I wouldn't make any extreme change to your diet, healing takes energy too, and I'm sure healing a busted up foot takes a bit more work than repairing muscle fibres (though that repair job is usually a lot more widespread). I tend to eat significantly more when I'm sick, I like to think it is my body demanding more fuel for healing purposes, but it's probably just that when I'm sick I have a hard time enjoying doing much so I end up bored (but like I said, I like to think it's because my body needs that extra fuel so I can nap more).


----------



## CowPimp (Sep 18, 2007)

I would think that at least some machine work for your upper body could be worked in somehow.


----------



## Mystik (Sep 19, 2007)

upper would do good i think 3x a week


----------



## sagejx (Apr 7, 2009)

I think I might have metatarsalgia    what did your doc tell you to do?


----------



## T_man (Apr 7, 2009)

do leg curls and extensions if they dont hurt, but make sure to raise the bar to your shins on the extensions if you can. Just do light weight, not too heavy. 
do upper body workouts which dont involve you moving your upper body, such as pull ups or dips which you might have to "jump" off and land incorrectly on your foot. continue with upper body training why not


----------



## sagejx (Apr 7, 2009)

I've been reading a bunch of stuff about this condition; the only thing one can do is to rest and use ice to lower the pain,right?And surgery...


----------



## CG (Apr 8, 2009)

T_man said:


> do leg curls and extensions if they dont hurt, but make sure to raise the bar to your shins on the extensions if you can. Just do light weight, not too heavy.
> do upper body workouts which dont involve you moving your upper body, such as pull ups or dips which you might have to "jump" off and land incorrectly on your foot. continue with upper body training why not



Yo t_man, way to bring up a 2 year old thread  I seriously hope her foot's still not broken


----------



## T_man (Apr 8, 2009)

sagex brought it up and I was replying to his question


----------



## CG (Apr 8, 2009)

Oops.. Let me re-direct my douchebagness at sagex then


----------



## CG (Apr 8, 2009)

Oops.. Let me re-direct my douchebagness at sagex then


----------



## strengthtrainer (Jul 23, 2011)

*thats the dumbest thing ive ever heard!*

theres much u can do, but it depends on what you have available to you. for example, terminal leg extensions with band resistance is great to strengthen the quad while injured. just simply find any leg exercise that can be done without putting pressure on the foot.


----------



## strengthtrainer (Jul 23, 2011)

*thats the dumbest thing ive ever heard!*



DOMS said:


> Just stop working out.  Give your body the time it needs to heal _correctly_.  You're probably not going to lose much by taking a month off.  Hell, I just came back from a month off (pulled a muscle in my lumbar region) and I didn't lose much, if any, strength.  Of course, you mileage may vary.  You could be a hard-gaining ectomorph.  Even if you do lose 10% or more on the layoff, muscle memory will help you to get it back quickly enough.
> 
> Besides, you'd be surprised how much you use your feet during upper body training.  Consider that, with proper form, a good bench press starts by pushing your feet into the ground.
> 
> ...



theres much u can do, but it depends on what you have available to you.  for example, terminal leg extensions with band resistance is great to  strengthen the quad while injured. just simply find any leg exercise  that can be done without putting pressure on the foot.


----------



## Built (Jul 23, 2011)

strengthtrainer, the OP broke her foot four years ago. Can we move on, please?


----------

