Need help training around an injury.

[tnfirefighter]

Ok guys, I really appreciate the feedback some of you gave me the other day on my workout routine. Like I said, I am like a newborn babe when it comes to weightlifting(all you gotta do is look at my avatar pic and it's pretty obvious!). Now I need some suggestions on how I should train around an injury. I was in Iraq and got my right Fibula broke and alot of ligament damage. I am still in a cast and am not supposed to do any lower body workouts, which means that I can't do any of the big, compound movement, mass building exercises that everyone says I should be doing, like squats and deadlifts. My left leg is fine, skinny, but fine.

My questions are........

Are there any other mass building exercises that I can be doing other than these two?

Should I be training my left leg even though I can't my right? I have read that the legs share a sympathetic nerve system. You know when someone comes up and gives you a charlie horse in one leg and the other one buckles? That is what causes it. If I continue to train my left leg, when I am able to train my right with it, will it catch up to my left?

These may seem like silly questions but since I have this time on my hands recovering I really want to try and maximize it. Thanks for any feedback.

[GreenWave1]

Focus on your upper body for now. There is plenty that you can do. For mass building, can you do dips and pullups (if the bar is low enough)? Can you do pulldowns? Seated and bench pressing movements shouldn't be a problem.

I wouldn't train the one leg and not the other. They'll get to far out of synch.

Good luck with your rehab!

[ironwill2008]

I 'd suggest you do everything you can do, including working your good leg, maybe with leg extensions, providing you get the OK from your doc. Yes, your other leg will catch up,barring any limitations from your injury, and yes there will be some sympathetic benefit from training the good leg.
Concentrate on your nutrition, and keep an eye on your waistline, as usual.
Like I said, concentrate on what you CAN do, and don't worry about what you can't. Good luck, brother.

[siwanut]

first build up you're foundation like a house. no foundation you'll jus still be a baby and seeing bigger boys in the gym will just make u jealous and lift heavier than you actually can and cause a long term injury.

do all you're body parts. other than that get a personaly trainer for atleast 6 weeks 2-3 session a week.. or do Boxing..

get you're body ready and then start step by step. GOOD LUCK!

[psychowolverine]

Hey TNfirefighter.... you wouldnt happen to carry the same handle(name) on a Tn hunting site would ya?

to your question.. I would not train legs at all until you are given the ok on your injured leg...

even then, when given the ok... I would stick with some bodyweight stuff to get in the flow of things...

[freebirdmac]

I wouldn't train the good leg either. It'll throw you off when you are able to start working the injured one. Stick with upper body and don't sweat it. You'll be able to catch your lower body up to where it was before in no time.

[NuclearArms]

Opposite approach here - go light all over. Upper body work should be light -
Reason - you can produce too much pressure and stress that can affect leg recovery. Wait til the cast is off and the MRI/x-ray show the leg is healing before going heavy.

[psychowolverine]

bump for tnFF

[tnfirefighter]

Originally Posted by psychowolverine

Hey TNfirefighter.... you wouldnt happen to carry the same handle(name) on a Tn hunting site would ya?

I do go on some of the tn hunting sites, but I use another handle. I have a couple of buds that are on there all the time and that is probably one of them.


I have hit the gym pretty hard the last couple of days and I noticed that the swelling in my leg has increased so it seems that I may need to lay off for a little while and let hit heal a little more.