How I got the sprain is not relevant to the topic of this post, but I'm going to tell you anyway:
I took my 7-year-old niece (who is the funniest kid on the planet) to the indoor trampoline park. She jumped for 30 minutes while I laughed with her on the side lines. Every 3 minutes or so, she'd run over to me and BEG me to jump with her. After approximately 10 "no's", I finally gave in and bought myself a pass for the second 30 minutes of jumping. I jumped 3 times and landed wrong--really wrong--on my right foot. Yep, that's right--3 jumps is all it took.
So anyway, it's a severe sprain and I have to wear this giant boot at all times, even when I sleep. It took several days to be able to put any weight on it but I've progressed to a fast limp. I call it my pimp walk. Go ahead and re-purpose that term.
How have I continued to workout while being incapable of putting weight on one leg?
I worked with my awesome 7-year-old niece to develop a circuit training workout that doesn't require any weight on my injured leg!
Before I share this workout with you, please allow me to entertain you by sharing my niece's documentation. Keep in mind she writes her 2's, 3's, 4's, and 7's backwards. She also writes some letters the wrong way and is super awesome at spelling. By awesome, I mean funny. And by funny, I mean bad.
Now, let me translate.
1. Ab Mat Situps (20)
*I use my CrossFit ab mat at home for this. you can get them on amazon for $15 or so and they are awesome.
Do 20 situps.
2. Push-ups (10)
Do 10 chest-to-floor push-ups...on your knees of course. Doing full push-ups with a sprained ankle is not the best idea.
3. Candlesticks (20)
*This is apparently what they call these in gymnastics according to my niece.
Lay on your back with your legs straight into the air. Thrust your butt straight up to get your abs going. Do 20 of these.
4. Bicep Curls (20)
Grab some 5 lb. dumbbells or some other weighted object you can hold in your hands and do 20 bicep curls slowly and controlled.
5. Bicycles (20)
Lay on your back with both legs hovering a few inches off the ground and hands behind your head. Engage your abs. Bend one leg to meet the knee with the opposite elbow. Do 10 each side. So 20 total.
*Side note, when I tried to tell her she spelled this one very wrong, she told me I was the one who was wrong. Mmmmk Kid.
6. Shoulder Tries (10)
Alright, this one is a little bit my fault because I just pulled the name for it out of thin air.
Grab those dumbbells again (or weighted object) and do a shoulder press. Immediately move into a tricep extension. Do that combo 10 times.
**This is where my niece wanted to make up a move. "Arm Uppers", although cute to watch a niece do, are not beneficial in any way so I eliminated them from this workout.
Then I added more to get to 10 moves.
7. Can-Cans (10 each leg)
Lay on 1 side and hover the top leg above the bottom. Lift the top leg toward the ceiling and back down. Then bring your knee toward your chest and straighten. Do that combo 10 times with each leg.
8. Leg circles (20 each leg)
Same starting position as #7. Circle the top leg forward 10 times and then backward 10 times. Repeat with the other leg.
9. Leg lifts (10)
Lay on your back with both legs straight in the air. Keep them straight and lower them to the ground and then back up. Do this 10 times.
10. Scissors (20)
Same starting position as #9. Keep your legs straight and scissor them 20 times.
Repeat the sequence 3 times all the way through. The workout takes 20-25 minutes to complete depending on your speed. It does get your heart rate up to around 120, and you do sweat if you go quickly enough.
The most important thing to remember is if you are severely injured, always put your healing first. It doesn't help to injure it more so be very careful!
