Just a general question. What do people think about using an elliptical for both cross training and while recovering from a knee injury. Thanks for the replies.
Just a general question. What do people think about using an elliptical for both cross training and while recovering from a knee injury. Thanks for the replies.
I dont know..I always seem todevelop another injury from them..I would bike if I were you..its the safest.
Ellipticals are ok for short periods of time. The problem that they have is that they never let the pressure off the foot. The human foot was not made to be weighted for long periods of time without lifting up. I hear all the time about peoples feet going numb after about 20 minutes or so. Numb feet is never good.
While coming back from injury you should do whatever you can to keep aerobicly fit. The muscles will come back much faster than the aerobic ability. Ritz is a great example of this. When he won CC Nats he said that he was only 85%. Not true. He was 100% fit, 85% of that was running spicific, but that boy was super fit. No one wins that race on only 85%. He stayed fit on the pool and other places.
So I would say, if you want ot use it, keep it to 20 minutes or so, them mve on to another machine.
Try something like this.
15-20min elliptical * Don't let your feet go nunb
15-20min stationaty bike
15-20min rowing machine
15-20min Schwinn Airdyne * great workout!
Keep as much volume as possible so that your fitness does not suffer.
During my last injury-layoff, I used a rower and a stationary, 90-120 minutes each day + a lot of hamstring exercises since those tend to ignore hamstrings.
an elliptical is still a weight-bearing exercise and probably not the best for recovery
Ellipticals are weight-bearing, but not impact inducing. I was able to x-train through a foot stress fracture on an elliptical with no problems. Didn't loose too much fitness over 6 weeks off, by mimicking my road training on it (all but doubles & the long run). Obviously if you have pain/discomfort, then stop.
THe numbness in the feet is NO big deal, numbrain! It doesnt sound like you've done alot of training on an Elliptical yet you speak as if you are an expert. THe occasional slight numbness is caused because your feet have very little movement while using the elliptical. If it they get a little numb just scrunch your toes a few times and it goes away.
Over the past year I have "run" hundreds of miles on an Elliptical due to recurrent calf injuries. Ive tried swimming, biking, pool running, and spin classes. The Elliptical is the best I've tried. I feel it resembles running the closest out any cross training I've ever done. Now, depending upon your injury, the elliptical may or may not be good for you. Only way to find out is try.
I use the Precor EFX 546 with NO moving hand rails ( those are weak) WHat I do is pump my arms as if I was running. It takes a little getting used to the balance but is a breeze once you get it down. TO make the workout even better get two 12oz fishing weights and hold them in each hand while doing the elliptical (I never use these while running-only while on Elliptical) I crank the resistance up to around 12-14 and get in a full hour of training. I usually cover just over 9 miles during this time. It is a great workout and there is NO constant pounding on your body. To mix up the workout you can play around with the resistance.
Trust me, if you do this consistently, you will stay VERY fit! Most recently, I was out for 6 weeks on an Elliptical. Once recovered, I trained only 3 weeks and then ran a 5K. My time was almost identical to the 5K I ran just before my injury.
Good luck.
OldSchooler
I tore open my knee on a rock last Summer, five weeks before a 50K. 25 stitches inc. 4 in tendon, I was in a leg brace for a week and couldn't run for a week after that. I did elliptical and stationary bike for 30-60 minutes each to get the leg strength back. It's amazing how much strength you lose from that damn leg brace!
Anyway, I felt the elliptical was a great tool for my rehab. Similar running motion w/o the pounding. I guess it depends what you are rehab-ing from.
E
P.S. I ran the 50k and finished in 4:51, got 23rd out of 280 or something.
thanks for the replies. I've tried the elliptical at a gym...so far so good. I agree with those who have said it's the best substitute to running (other than pool running)
One more thing I forgot to mention about the occasional numbness in the feet. As runners we are used to tieing our laces fairly snug. Rarely is any numbness felt while running because the feet get plently of movement. On the Elliptical however, they don't move much. Because of this, DON'T tie the laces as tight as if you were going for a run, or they could go to sleep on you!.
Good luck!
OldSchooler