Working out with a cast

[MetalMat]

So like a big dummy I broke my right hand on a very drunken friday night punching a wall (boxers fracture) and it is in a cast for the next 6 weeks. I cant really lift weights with the cast on but would like to maintain at least some sort of workout schedule in this time frame. Should I just stick to running?

 

[mk52]

squat

 

[brikis98]

What are your goals? What kind of workouts were you doing before?

 

[MetalMat]

What are your goals? What kind of workouts were you doing before?

Split routine with free weights, nothing too fancy. I would not feel comfortable doing squats because I cannot hold the bar, best I could do would be leg press.

 

[douglasb]

Dude you don't even need hands to do back squats. But leg press would be better than nothing.

 

[Whisper]

A friend of mine broke his hand in nearly the exact same way (he was sober, but broke it punching a door after an argument with his family), and I swear, I've never seen someone work out legs that often in the month it took him to get the cast removed.

A couple weeks in he also began incorporating various "push" exercises (military and bench presses primarily) with lighter weights, but he didn't get anywhere near a row, deadlift, curl, or anything else that involved a pulling motion until after the cast came off.

 

[brikis98]

Split routine with free weights, nothing too fancy. I would not feel comfortable doing squats because I cannot hold the bar, best I could do would be leg press.

It is possible to squat with one arm, but it is fairly risky. You would definitely need bumper plates in case the weight slipped off and crashed to the floor. However, you'd probably be better off doing whatever you can safely and recovering any strength losses once you are healed. Many of the heavy, full body motions are probably a no-go with one arm, but here are still plenty of other exercises you can try: lunges, step-ups, split squats, air squats, jump training (long jump, high jump, box jumps), one legged squats, sit-ups, back extensions, and running/sprinting. You can also work on one arm dumbbell/kettlebell versions of most exercises, including snatches, cleans, press, jerk, rows, etc. This will develop your core & stability and iirc, many of the neurological benefits will actually apply to the injured arm once it is out of the cast.