Training Around Injuries: Joints and Cardio

Disclaimer: The following article is based on my own experiences only, and is not meant to replace the advice of a coach, doctor, or other medical practitioner with an education in medicine or sports therapy. Take all advice herein with a grain of salt.


During my prep for the 2012 MABBA Novice show, near the halfway mark (10 weeks out or so), I doubled up my cardio (as well as slightly increasing my food) to help keep fat loss moving along. It worked, and got me out of the rut I was in. However, I had to pay another price--near the end, my ankles absolutely killed me. I really couldn't run at all. Anytime I tried to run my ankles felt the most uncontrollable pain.

However, there were probably a few factors involved in this. First of all, the simple act of doing close to an hour of cardio every day was probably too much for my joints to handle. However, even moreso was the type of cardio. I didn't have any cardio equipment at home, and I couldn't run outside in the winter, so I basically had to run in place. That meant using a lot of tension on the toes, which wasn't good for me when trying to do legs--especially when working calves.

Another thing is the fact that I had collapsed arches even before the cardio. This had always made posture something that was really awkward for me, so I needed to make sure that everything that I was doing wasn't making this harder for me.

Anyway, almost overnight after the contest, when I tried doing legs or cardio, I realized I had a lot of difficulty doing them. I felt awful and needed to get orthopedics (which I still wear), to make sure my joints were protected. I still wanted to do cardio (since removing it altogether seemed unhealthy and would have made my reverse diet harder) so I came up with some alternatives:

1. Elyptical. These are great for cardio and doesn't put too much strain on the joints. I like to be a little careful with it, though, because when you increase the speed, you might end up putting more of your ankles into it.

2. Biking. Another great choice, it's great if you want to hang out in the outdoors and still do cardio. Can be a little hard on the legs if you're not careful.

3. Swimming. Another great choice, using your whole body. Play around with different strokes and speeds, so you're never really bored with it.

However, one thing I should mention is the issue of orthopedics. If you're interested in it, I highly recommend talking to your doctor and having yourself checked up, even if you probably don't need orthopedic work, just to see if you do. Finding a good pair of shoes to go with orthopedics can be a huge pain, so know whether you need them ahead of time; that way, you can hunt around and see what's available.

Overall, if you want to keep up cardio when you're injured like this, you just need to be careful--listen to your body and if it needs rest, give it rest! You're body will thank you for it.