Since tearing my ACL on September the 24th of this year I have needed to find a way to keep training.
Lifting is no problem as evidenced by my Can You Squat With a Torn ACL article.
I lift 3 days per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). And I do cardio twice per week (Tuesday and Thursday).
Cardio can be tricky because it hurts to bend my knee all the way and I don’t want to do any running or jumping on it.
Here is what I have been doing:
Cardio with Knee Injury Exercise #1 – Hitting the Heavy Bag
Nothing is more fun that punching. I usually just pick a combination and repeat it for 50-100 reps. Then I pick another combination.
I can’t rotate too much on my right leg but I still get a good sweat and I feel much better after this workout. If you have an injured knee, make sure you try some boxing to relieve your stress.
When I can’t get in the gym to box I go outside to do:
Cardio with Knee Injury Exercise #2 – Medicine Ball Slams or Band Slams
Tie a band around a playground bar and pull it. Make sure the band is thick or it will rip. They are super cheap. I use the thickest of the bands below:
You can also do medicine ball slams with a medicine ball. They are a lot of fun. They don’t require a lot of knee movement.
Another exercise that I have been doing most often are:
Cardio with Knee Injury Exercise #3 – Intervals on the Stationary Bike
I go hard for 60 seconds then I rest 60 seconds. I repeat it 5x. Then I do 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest 5 times.
I really crank up the resistance during these work sets. After I get off the bike I am walking funny for 5 minutes.
Those are some great cardio exercises to help you stay in shape if you have a knee injury.
If you have any questions or if you have your own exercises you do, please post them below!