Hi Hayley,
A few days ago, I was cycling to work in the rain and my bike skidded on a wet surface and pitched me off. I broke the scaphoid in my left wrist and took chunks of skin out of my right forearm and knee.
I've always been active, but the level has fluctuated - I walk a lot, ride to work regularly (~20-30km return as I have a few different locations), but then fluctuate in how often/much i run and do weight training (have run several 10k races but never more, though planning a 14k in May and a half marathon in October). I was just starting to get back in the swing of being active again after a lot of drama with my gym that caused me to stop going so regularly, and an operation in January with resulting mandatory inactivity. I put on about 5kg after the operation, before which i was about 3-5 kg from my goal weight. But now I've broken my arm and I don't really know what to do!
On top of all this, I'm getting married at the end of May, so I really need to at least lose those 5kg, and probably more like 7 for me to be the size I was when I bought my dress. I really need help in how to do this when so much of my typical fitness repertoire is not possible (I'll no longer be riding to work, am not supposed to run as it will jostle my arm and can't do the arm/back exercises i was doing in anticipation of the wedding - I wanted nicely defined upper arms and back.. a dream it looks like i'll have to give up on.) Help!!
That is terrible that you fell off your bike but I feel your pain! I broke my hand 2 years ago playing basketball and I was forced to have to take it easy and miss an entire ski season, which nearly killed me! I had to become creative and I managed to find ways to stay active and keep the weight from piling on and keep myself from going crazy.
First of all, as long as you do not intake more calories than you are expending each day you will not put on body fat. During this time where you are unable to be as active as you are used too you must focus on your nutrition. Cutting out 300 calories from your diet daily will be enough to make sure that you do not put on weight. This is quite easy to do; you do not need to change what you eat but how much and when.
Start your day with a high protein and high fibre breakfast – my favourite way to start my morning is with a smoothie. I use non fat plain Greek yogurt, frozen berries, Vega protein powder, hemp hearts and a little bit of water. Try not to eat 3 hours before you go to bed and load the earlier part of your day with your fruits and the later part of your day with vegetables. A good friend of mine, and dietician, Diana Steele, taught me that your breakfast should be ¼ protein, ¼ carbohydrates and ½ fruit. Your lunch and your dinner should be the same but instead of fruit it is vegetables and the portion sizes of each meal will become smaller as the day progresses. Stay away from any added sugars and refined carbohydrates.
For your workouts, there is not a lot that you can do for your upper body until it heals. Try doing 1 minute of a front plank and a side plank (each side) 2 or 3 times a day. These core exercises will help limit the amount of muscle that your body will lose while you are injured. I suggest you do these with your elbows on a bench or a bosu to limit the amount of pressure that is being applied to your wrist. If you have access to exercise cables, you can add in cable rows, cable chest presses, cable bicep curls and tricep push downs to your exercise routine.
For your cardio, stay away from impact and definitely do not ride your bike to work anymore until the wrist is fully healed as the last thing you want to do is fall again and hurt it even more. Keep up with your walking and I suggest you find a spin class to add to your workout regimen, one or two times per week to make sure that you do not lose your cycling strength through this injury. You are ok to do any type of cardio, just keep it very low impact.
As soon as your cast is off I would suggest you get into the pool 2 or 3 times per week to rebuild the strength back into your arms to make sure that you have the sexy arms and back that you are looking for on your wedding day. All you will need is two or three weeks in the pool and you will look better than you ever did before. Click here for swim workouts that you can follow for your pool workouts.
Lastly, do not stress. I promise as long as you stay on top of your nutrition, get a little creative with your workouts and get into the pool as soon as you are ready you will be as fit as you ever were and look amazing on your wedding day.
Attached - Katherine Heigl shopping for groceries after hitting the gym.
