Which exercises are effective for a cardio workout when having injured legs?
Very recently, I seriously injured my left knee. My current diagnosis is MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament) tear. This means up to 12 weeks recovery time until I can return to any sports activities.
I have been doing plenty of cardio by running (12-16 km 3 times a week). With this injury I (obviously) cannot do that and I'm afraid I'll start losing cardio fitness.
Either way I will lose plenty of muscle tone in my both legs. But I am wondering what exercises involving only upper body can replace a cardio workout?
(4)4 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
Cardio is anything that raises your heart rate and breathing, so it's pretty wide-open in terms of activities. With your knee injury, I assume that most types of aerobics are going to be outside your reach (no bending, twisting, etc). Which is why I'm going to suggest chair aerobics.
Yes, I know that this type of exercise is stereotypically something done by senior citizens and people who want to pretend to be exercising while sitting in front of the TV, but if you put the effort into it, you will get a workout, and the fact that you're doing it from a sitting position means you're not putting stress on your injured knee.
Another possibility is to focus on core exercises like crunches, leg lifts, and twists, but frankly, it's difficult to do those exercises and not start squeezing with your legs to get that extra bit of leverage, so that might be contraindicated by your injury.
You could try using a Pull Buoy and swim freestlye (front crawl) arms only in a swimming pool.
The water will be low impact on your knee
and the buoy in-between your thighs keep you buoyant and will add resistance.
and you could also combine this with a pyramid style workout;
10 lengths then rest
9 lengths then rest
8 then rest
until you get to 1 length and then go back up the pyramid. increasing effort as you go.
In my opinion this would be great cardio.
You can use an arms ergometer or home mini pedals.
In your position I'd try to get my hands on a handcycle. A proper one, not one designed to bolt on to a wheelchair. Second hand ideally, and sell it on afterwards so it shouldn't cost you too much.
If you're used to getting about actively, you'll probably want a form of exercise that allows you to get out and about. You don't say whether you'll be able to walk much, but I suspect you'll be strapped up tight and on crutches. I also don't know whether you've got any budget, so this may not be a viable option.
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2026 All Rights reserved.