Rosanne

Limited mobility | Unlimited stories: How to exercise if one foot can't be used?

My biggest challenge with limited mobility so far: how to stay fit if 'just' walking causes recovery days like these?

https://steemitimages.com/DQmRuQPrCpFfcuYmYGSmy3NuMhwg4F7LHKQnGdQNT33iLKM/LMUS.jpg

Personal training

When I first got home 3 years ago with a busted and irreparable bone in my left foot I started to think relatively quickly about how to keep exercising. I searched online but really great source material about 'how to get fit with limited mobility' was not available. Maybe some stretching exercises 'for the elderly' were the best I could find back then - but my bigger worry was: how to stay strong when moving less than the years before?

I decided that a personal trainer would maybe give some answers. I e-mailed quite a few in my city with the question: "Let's say I can barely use one of my feet, can you still make a fitness program for me that makes me feel I'm actually improving on my body?"

One answer was a 'loud and clear' YES (mostly didn't even reply ;-)) and along we went. It really did help me but your wallet starts to get empty pretty fast paying a (good) personal trainer. So I trained with her for a few months, learned as much as I could about moving without involving the foot too much, and then went on to phase 2.

Swimming

The second thing that made sense to me was swimming. In a swimming pool you don't need to use your foot!

Or so I thought.

But it appeared those nasty little steps in and out of the swimming pool took quite some effort on my feet. Sometimes too much. Also: swimming pools are crowded!!! So I was constantly scared someone would kick my foot and when that indeed happened I cramped up just from anxiety.

Needles to say: I stopped.

Home exercising

Then I tried to keep up with some exercises at home. Those from my personal trainer and those from Youtube, and...

I'm not proud of this, but part of all that had happened also influenced my mental state. So without the guilt of paying a lot of money towards a personal trainer and without the feedback if I did something good or if I could improve it... I pretty quickly gave up on exercising at home. I needed something more, someone to kick my but, again, so I went on...

Fit20

I had seen this concept a few times before, I even lived 2,5 years next to one of their fitness schools! It's a pretty simple concept created by a Dutch physical therapist: 6 machines and a personal trainer, 20 minutes in a fitness room with a personal trainer to do the 6 exercises, and you're done. The idea is that suuuper slow movement is just as effective as endless repetition - and boy did I feel sore after my trial training! That definitely worked!

I've been doing this program for more than a year now: every Wednesday I go to the exercise room, my personal trainer awaits me, she sets the machines to my exact weights and measurements, and I practice arms/chest 2x, legs/buttocks/thighs 2x, and stomach/back 2x. The movements are slow, I repeat every movement about 2 minutes, and if it gets too easy (measured by if I can do an 'extra' repetition) the next week she'll add 2.4 kilograms to the weight I have to pull/push.

I've never done any fitness program for so long (only dancing has ever been able to keep me moving :D) - but this too is relatively expensive, and it gets boring after a while - the 6 machines don't change, just the weight. I notice how strong it makes me though, so I keep going, but lately I've been thinking... What's next?

Kettlebell? Yoga?

I've bought Kettlebells years ago and very irregularly pick them up and do some 'Kettlebell Swings'. It's an amazingly effective way to raise your heart beat, I sweat within minutes, and boy do I miss sweating and getting out of breath sometimes!

I had some back problems lately, which made me postpone picking up the Kettlebells, but the last few hours I've done a lot of research on Kettlebells and I'm very confident I can get myself into a routine that would raise my heartbeat a few times a week - and when it doesn't break my back again I could maybe let go of the Fit20 and do this free exercise at home.

I'm also thinking about combining this with some beginners/basic yoga. Just to gain some overall body strength and flexibility. I sit more than most people. I need to make sure I don't turn into a stiff old weak little lady :-)

Tips

Do you or anyone you know have limited mobility and found solutions for doing exercise regularly? I'd love to know. I don't mind getting some tips - although my specific injury is very very peculiar and I often can't even begin to explain why 'no I can't do a lunge'... Input is very much welcome.

As with so many things money would honestly be a great help. If I could buy a house near the sea of with a private swimming pool it would solve all the above mentioned challenges. Because: I LOVE swimming. Would do it every day if I could do it without dozens of people surrounding me. Oh STEEM... How far will you take me? :-)