Need cardio activity that doesn't involve legs
 

Anyone have any ideas on this one? I've got a knee injury that keeps me from using my legs for anything at the moment and I'm going stir crazy while waiting for MRI results etc. So I need to workout somehow, but have no idea how to do it. Should I get a punching bag or something?

low weight high rep weightlifting, or....

rent a hand-crank bicycle!

If you have a gym membership you can run circuits of the core and upper body exercises. I would go for low weight and high reps with no break between machines. You can get nice and toned while your knee heals and get a decent cardio workout at the same time.

Find a gym with a UBE (Upper body ergometer)

Some yoga and pilates classes can really get the heart rate up. It just depends on what type of yoga the teacher prefers.

Check this guy out. Former U of Iowa wrestler, now a fitness guru that preaches body-weight exercises.

www.mattfurey.com

If I was in this situation I would work my biceps and forearms with weights. Maybe try to do them seated without putting tension on your knee/legs. Just be careful and start out with low weight working your way up to where you can just barely do 12 reps with clean form. I keep track of my progress on my computer and workout between posts some days.


Seated Hammer Dumbbell Curl http://youtube.com/watch?v=LdnxaIm9n1o
Seated Dumbbell Curl http://youtube.com/watch?v=ggSmQiAfyd0

Wrist Curl http://youtube.com/watch?v=wAGtdY18SGY&feature=related

Reverse Wrist Curl http://youtube.com/watch?v=1c8aiFqKel8



All four of these feel really good when you do them slowly with proper form. There are other wrist, forearm and bicep excercises on youtube these are just some of the more common ones. I have a gym but honestly it has helped me a lot to have my own weight set at home. My barbell set has 300 lbs of weight and was purchased on sale for $120 at the sports authority here. I also have two dumbbell handles that accept plates and a preacher curl bar these were fairly cheap at the accursed walmart. To top it off I bought a big workout mat to save the carpet and turned my living room into my gym at home.

Swimming, using the upper body only, with hand paddles.

Awesome, thanks guys. I have some dumbbells here and will try doing some circuit stuff with those. I'll look into going to my gym (Bally's) if I get the clearance take my knee brace off, but I would currently have a hard time fitting on a machine.

+1 to swimming.

I think I would drown if I had to swim without using my legs. :o

Not sure about swimming b/c I had to give up triathlons due to shoulder surgery. Swimming put more stress on my shoulder than I could handle. Perhaps it's stronger 2 years later though.

It's non-weight-bearing for the legs, though. You still use them, just not with a load on the joints. May not be approved by the OP's doc for his specific issue, but it's usually a great rehab tool.

True. Just seemed like a weird random thought to try and swim without using your lower body. Seems tiring and not for someone with an underdeveloped upper body. ;)

Get a racing wheelchair? People would give you a hell of a hard time if they found out you're not disabled, but it is great upper-body-only cardio.

any pool should have these little foam things shaped like an 8. you put them between your legs and it holds your legs up so you can swim with just your arms. its the same idea as a kick board but reversed.

Any of the high energy yoga classes will use a bunch of poses that will stress an injured knee. Not sure about pilates. Swimming seems the best bet to me.

It's called a pull buoy. Very handy if you're trying to avoid using your legs.

Not true. Anyway, you should always do yoga within your limits.

+1. If you have swim fins, they will have the same effect, as long as you keep moving, as water moving along the fins provides left to keep your legs up. Don't kick with the legs; just let them trail behind. I used to do this while snorkeling; on the surface, I gave my legs a rest while on the surface by swimming with my arms.

Keep in mind that you can still do some ab and core exercises, plus some exercises that isolate your good leg. Oh, and one thing I learned the hard way, while waiting for a patellar tendon to heal: EAT LESS than when you were active. Those love handles can sneak up on you, and will never want to go away.

a lot of really good sex

Unless you use 10lbs max on the various machines, a workout on weights in the gym is going to lean more toward an anaerobic workout, and I gather you are trying to get a longer, aerobic workout in while your knee heels.

If you do swim you need to start out with some workouts designed to warm up your shoulders, and protect and loosen the muscles, ligaments/tendons around your rotator cuff(s). I would first consult the surgeon who performed your shoulder surgery. If he/she gives you the thumbs up on swimming, then go swim a lap or two ONLY, and let your shoulder rest a day to see how it reacts. Make sure you use a pull buoy (see pic below) so your legs will float and you won't kick. If you don't feel pain, and your shoulder recovers, then follow this for the next few workouts:

Go to the the pool, and make sure you stretch your upper body and core muscles for a significant amount of time before swimming. Use a pull buoy, and start with very slow exaggerated freestyle strokes. The way to get to a slow exaggerated stroke is by 1st swimming a couple of normal laps, and count your strokes for each lap. If it took you 20 strokes for one lap (once across the pool), then try to finish the next few laps using only 16 strokes per lap. Then try to complete the next few laps using only 14 strokes per lap, and so on. This will really warm up your shoulder joints and may give a good work out up to this point - depending on how good a swimmer your are. Once you reach your benchmark minimum strokes/lap, use that as a reference and swim 4X200 slow, easy and exaggerated. If your not tired, repeat the interval slow, easy and exaggerated. Again, it's really going to depend on how good a swimmer you are/were. After a few weeks of this workout, and if your shoulder is reacting normally, then you could move on to some longer distance swimming and normal interval training in the pool.

If you can't do freestyle because of your shoulder, then try breaststroke and follow the same procedure described above.



http://www.speedousa.com/images/spee...753252_004.jpg

If you are doing it right, except in breaststroke, the legs are used only to keep your lower body up on the surface of the water. The legs don't do much for propulsion (again, with the exception of breaststroke). A pull-bouy can be used to keep the legs isolated, but even if you don't use one, the knees are not stressed at all.

If Bally's has a rowing ergometer, you can use that with just the back and arms. It's still a good workout. Just keep your legs straight or knees slightly bent

if your shoulders cant take swimming, tread water, arms only. takes the overhead shoulder problem out.

That guy is a quack who's only purpose is to sell you something.

To the OP: What about a rowing machine?