Keeping fit when injured?

I stuffed my left ankle at the beginning of December so stopped running until New Year's Day when I thought a little 4 miler up to the trig and back would be just the tonic and a gentle way back. I was wrong! It was too early to return and now the ankle is worse than ever. So I reluctantly went for an appointment with a sport's Podiatrist (James Hogg - Durham)this week and it looks like the peroneal ligaments are the culprits, so further weeks of resting, plus orthotics are the treatment :(

Thing is, at 58 years of age I know that aerobic fitness drains rapidly and muscle tone equally seeps into the ether (not also counting the toll on my mental wellbeing).


So I'm looking for a low impact, highly aerobic, exercise substitute. I'm considering buying a rowing machine, but have also looked at cross trainers and even a turbo trainer for my old bike.

Any advice/suggestions to prevent or slow down the loss of muscle and fitness gratefully accepted.

I am a year older than you, and no year is complete for me without some time off running due to Achilles tendon or calf problems (less than two weeks in 2017, but a lot more in most years). I just get on my bike and ride around the country lanes when I can't run. Even so, I do notice a lack of running fitness when I get back to running, but it does deal with the mental wellbeing effects of not being able to run.

Personally I use the cross trainer when I'm not running due to fatigue or injury. It's very low-impact, and can give you a superb aerobic workout. Disadvantages are it is quite boring. It does take some mental fortitude to knock an hour out on one of these.

Also occasionally use a spin-bike which I guess is similar to using a turbo trainer. If you cycle you may find this preferable. Certainly a,tough workout if you push hard, but I personally prefer the cross trainer.

Rowing machine is a fantastic all round workout, and I'm a great fan of it, it can do wonders for your fitness and strength. But I do wonder if it transfers to running as well as the cross trainer or even the turbo trainer. Also if you're working fairly hard on a rower then you may find some pain in your ankle on the push off. A further disadvantage, if you are considering purchasing an item of equipment yourself, is that you really need a decent quality rower. A Concept 2 rower is probably £800-1000, and if you go for anything lower quality then I wouldn't bank on it lasting forever if you are really hammering it regularly.

I always turn to cycling if possible when I can't run. Seems to tick all the boxes in terms of being outdoors, aerobic etc. Just make sure you stay seated on the hills to avoid any unnecessary stress.

Can you walk Mossy? There’s so much more to running than the actual running

For a few years now I've had sore knees after a run ..... finishing the JNLC some 16 months ago was nothing short of a minor miracle, albeit that it was nearly all power walking.
I have also cycled for the past 12 years, more so since retiring nearly 7 years ago. For the past 8 months I have ridden mostly fixed wheel ( fairly low at 59" - 46x21) and despite having to stand up and give it a 'bit of porridge' on the ascents, my knees seem to be the best that they've been for maybe 10 years; to the extent that I can jog a mile to the local park, run the 3.1 mile park run then jog home and my knees feel perfectly OK.
I don't know how riding fixed would sit with your injury ( best consult your podiatrist ) but it seems to be doing well for me. I'm wondering if 'spinning out' on the descents and the level is having some restorative effect?

Thanks for all the speedy replies guys. I've been desperate to get some advice from the forum, but this is the first night the forum has been up and running (oh that's a vey cruel phrase given my predicament :) ) for some time for me.

I can walk DT. I've just returned from a gentle fell-walk over the Askham fells today and once I'm moving it feels okays. If I've been stationary for 15 mins or more then it aches and I hobble for 100 metres or so until it loosens up. Getting out of bed, first thing in the morning is particularly a pain. I've had niggles in the ankle for several years now, but it never stopped me from running most days.

However, on a mid-week headtorcher in early December, when the first snows this winter arrived here, I went over on the side of my ankle on a frosted rut, which I think precipitated this 'tear' on an already vulnerable ankle.

I'm going to dust off my old touring bike (Peugeot Voie circa 1985) tomorrow and take it for a spin over to Alston, weather permitting, and see how that feels. It's not been out of the shed for 2 years since I last cycled the High Moors Sportive with a fell running mate, so it will need some DIY (as will I :) ).

I'm living too rural to access a local gym conveniently, so it's hard to gauge how best to deal with this but all your comments have been really helpful.

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Originally Posted by Mossdog

I'm going to dust off my old touring bike (Peugeot Voie circa 1985) tomorrow and take it for a spin over to Alston, weather permitting, and see how that feels. It's not been out of the shed for 2 years since I last cycled the High Moors Sportive with a fell running mate, so it will need some DIY (as will I :) ).

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Did you manage the ride over to Alston? Conditions up there better for skiing than cycling, I would imagine.

After a recent minor calf pull I looked into a static bike - but had to send it back due to a manufacturing fault - so I ended up going to the local gym - they had a cheap deal on pre-xmas. 30 mins on the bike certainly worked up a sweat, and now I am back running again, albeit a bit more cautiously. As a long term training method it would be a bit dull, but in the short term it is quite interesting - the gym bikes have videos of routes through the Alps and so on to distract you, and seeing the big boys building up their biceps adds to the fun.

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Originally Posted by anthonykay

Did you manage the ride over to Alston? Conditions up there better for skiing than cycling, I would imagine.

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I didn't Anthony, I went for a fell walk instead. You're right, it was wonderfully crisp, sunny and snowy, but the lane outside the house was completely iced over (we're at 340 metres), and I wanted to avoid anymore injuries!

Snow cover on the tops was a delightful powdery 4 to 5 inches in places and I bet they had a great day at Yadmoss ski run too. Still looking good this evening at 5:00 pm according to their webcam.

http://web108.extendcp.co.uk/yadmoss.co.uk/webcams/

I did manage to sort out the old bike though and found an exact match online.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/pe...savoie.193152/

Not exactly cutting edge :)

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Originally Posted by Mike T

After a recent minor calf pull I looked into a static bike - but had to send it back due to a manufacturing fault - so I ended up going to the local gym - they had a cheap deal on pre-xmas. 30 mins on the bike certainly worked up a sweat, and now I am back running again, albeit a bit more cautiously. As a long term training method it would be a bit dull, but in the short term it is quite interesting - the gym bikes have videos of routes through the Alps and so on to distract you, and seeing the big boys building up their biceps adds to the fun.

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Thanks for the advice Mike. I'm glad to hear you've recovered and you're back pounding the fells.

I'm still undecided about how best to deal with the cardio-aerobic issue, but at least I'm chalking up a shed load of core strength in the meantime. I'm watching my diet too as going from running 30 plus miles a week and 6000 feet has left a surplus of calories to cope with otherwise!

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Originally Posted by Mossdog

I did manage to sort out the old bike though and found an exact match online.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/pe...savoie.193152/

Not exactly cutting edge :)

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Rather lovely nonetheless!

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Originally Posted by PeteS

Rather lovely nonetheless!

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Nice of you to say Pete.

Reynolds 531 tubing was the bee-knees when I bought it. It's pretty much original with Sachs-Huret components and while it used to have a helicomatic rear hub, I had to remove this as it was constantly munching rear wheel spokes. It ventured on several month-long holidays in the Picos de Europa and had a spell in the Pyrenees, along with my old Ultimate Phazor-dome tent. All now suitably vintage - a bit like me :)

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Originally Posted by Mossdog

Nice of you to say Pete.

Reynolds 531 tubing was the bee-knees when I bought it. It's pretty much original with Sachs-Huret components and while it used to have a helicomatic rear hub, I had to remove this as it was constantly munching rear wheel spokes. It ventured on several month-long holidays in the Picos de Europa and had a spell in the Pyrenees, along with my old Ultimate Phazor-dome tent. All now suitably vintage - a bit like me :)

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Lovely stuff.
I used to live about 2 miles from the Reynolds factory. My first decent bike was 531 and my commuter is still a Reynolds steel frame albeit 725 these days. Steel is real as they say!

Pool running is surprisingly good. I stuffed my achilles last spring and had to take some weeks off. 3/4 sessions a week of about an hour doing basically interval workouts in the pool (with a pool running belt on for flotation) kept me pretty fit, even if I did feel like a knob. 2 weeks later I ran the Lakeland Trails Marathon; maybe not 100% but I didn't lose anything like as much as I feared I would.

Just a thought Mossdog. It might be worth considering doing a big block of basic leg strengthening work (weighted or body-weight). Squats, Swissball work etc while you're on a forced reduction in running. Come back stronger if not as run fit. Re: Wheezing Donkey and the knee thing. I had a similar experience with my knees improving with some cycling added to my training, as does Mrs tfg. My 'theory' was that the extra/different quad work improved the knee placement etc so stopping unwanted internal 'rubbing'. A simplified explanation.

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Originally Posted by that_fjell_guy

Just a thought Mossdog. It might be worth considering doing a big block of basic leg strengthening work (weighted or body-weight). Squats, Swissball work etc while you're on a forced reduction in running. Come back stronger if not as run fit. Re: Wheezing Donkey and the knee thing. I had a similar experience with my knees improving with some cycling added to my training, as does Mrs tfg. My 'theory' was that the extra/different quad work improved the knee placement etc so stopping unwanted internal 'rubbing'. A simplified explanation.

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Thanks for the helpful advice TFG and also TT above. Yes, I've been racking up lots of squats daily (250) and calf raises (100). I've tried using weights to reduce the number of squats before exhaustion sets in, but I find its my shoulders that ache well before my quads reach over burn. Ive been over to Alston and back on the bike (about 45 miles. 3000 ft round trip), a couple of times now, but it does take a toll on my ankle a little, which is disappointing. I'm sadly resigned to accepting that this is probably going to take another couple of months :(

tbh Mossdog it sounds like you're doing all you can. Horses for courses, using what's available to yourself etc. Its only second week in January hopefully you can be back on the running miles by end of February and stronger maybe! Good luck and enjoy the cycling! :)

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Originally Posted by that_fjell_guy

... Re: Wheezing Donkey and the knee thing. I had a similar experience with my knees improving with some cycling added to my training, as does Mrs tfg. My 'theory' was that the extra/different quad work improved the knee placement etc so stopping unwanted internal 'rubbing'. A simplified explanation.

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TFG, I've been cycling alongside my spasmodic running for over 12 years. It's only in the last 9 months of predominantly riding the 'fixie' that my knees seem to have come good and my running is now on a far more regular basis.
PS Last Thursday we rode Lancaster - H.Bentham for coffee then Burton-in-Lonsdale (thrutchy, little climb), Ireby (another shorty, thrutchy climb), Leck, Overtown, Casterton, Kirkby Lonsdale for lunch, Wrayton and Spout Lane (two thrutchy, little climbs ) Wennington, Wray, Lancaster. All on 59" fixed and the knees were great. Ran to the Lancaster Park Run on Saturday, did the run then ran home, no problem.