Low Impact Recovery Workouts: No Excuses!

Pushing yourself too hard may result in further injury and even more time at home with that cast on your leg! I was doing so well! Do I have to stop completely?

Don’t feel like you should completely give up on staying active! Opt for low-impact workouts that target different muscles in your body, and focus on stretching to remain flexible and encourage recovery. Aim to work-out for 3 times a week, with 2 days of stretching/yoga exercises. Modify difficult workouts to suit your recovery status, and don’t push yourself! Train with lower weights and longer reps. Here are some top tips and workout ideas that you can do while in recovery mode!

Foot Injury: Focus on Upper Body and Core

Here is a great workout to perform if you have an injured foot/calf. Perform this circuit 4 times with a one minute break between each circuit.

Low Impact Recovery Workouts

1) Triceps Dips:

Stand with your back facing the couch/bench. Bring your hands down onto the arm rest/bench, with your fingers pointing forward. Extend your legs in-front of you with your heels on the ground. Using your arms, lower your body down until your elbows form a 90-degree angle. Then, push yourself up. Repeat this for 16 reps.

Modification: Too hard? Bend your knees and push your feet firmly on the ground. The closer your legs are to your torso, the easier the exercise.

2) Pull-ups:

Stand up facing the bar, and hold the bar shoulder-width apart with a tight grip. Your fingers should be facing forward. Slowly pull yourself up, until the top of your chest touches the bar. Bring yourself down and repeat.

Modification: Not at that level yet? Use a weight-assisted pull-up machine, or resistance bands to reduce the weight load on your arms and core.

3) V-ups:

Lie down with your arms extended overhead, and your legs stretched with your toes pointing upwards. In the same motion, bring your legs and shoulders up, and try to reach for your toes with your fingers. Slowly bring your arms and legs back down into starting position. Repeat 20 times!

4) Bench-press:

Lie down on a bench. Use two dumbbells/bar at a comfortable weight. Hold the bar/dumbbells using a tight grip, with your arms extended over your chest. Slowly bring the weight down using your elbows/arms and push the weight back up. Breathe in as you bring the weight down, and breathe out as you push the weight up using your chest. Repeat this exercise 8 times.

5) Med-ball Thrusters:

Choose a light med-ball. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and hold the med-ball in your hands. Squat down with the med-ball in-front of your chest, and as you stand back up, bring the med-ball overhead. Use the force from your legs to help push that med-ball up. Quickly go back into squatting position and repeat the exercise 20 times.
Injured Wrist/Arm:

Here is a great workout to perform if you have an injured wrist/arm. Perform this circuit 4 times with a one minute break between each circuit.

1) Jump Squats:

Start with your feet at hip-width apart. Push your hips down as you drop into a squat position, making sure your toes are parallel to one another. Once you are at a squatting position, use all of your energy to burst up into a jump. Land lightly into a squat position and repeat 20 times. Make sure your core and glutes are fully engaged.

Modification: Too hard? Try doing air-squats instead, without the jump.

2) Leg drops:

Lie down with your arms tucked beside your stomach, and your legs extended. Bring both legs up, so that your legs form a 90-degree angle with your torso. Slowly bring one leg down at a time. Lightly tap the ground with your heel, and bring your leg back up. Repeat 15 times on each leg.

3) Shuffles:

Start with your knees slightly bent, and your head looking forward. Perform choppy steps to the right with your right foot, and switch back the other way. Try to shuffle quickly, with your back straight and your head up. Perform continuously for 40 seconds and move on to the next movement.

4) Lunge-pulses:

Get into lunge position. As you are looking forward, bring the back knee towards the ground, and back up into starting position, but don’t fully extend your leg! Always have your knee slightly bent, and pulse this motion for 12 times using each leg.

An injury can be a bummer, but don’t let it stop you from achieving your goals! Remain active and utilize different muscles, and take it slow!