Handsfree fitness
March 1, 2016 4:22 PM Subscribe
I'm going to be without the full use of my dominant hand for a little bit! Bummer. One contributing sub-bummer is that I won't be able to do yoga for some time since downward dog will be out of the question. Can you recommend any workouts I should consider that won't be too lop-sided without my dominant hand?
I'll be getting physical therapy to get my hand back in shape, but I could use some help figuring out what to do with the rest of my human body.
Caveats:
- No water, can't get hand wet for some time
- I hate running
If you have any additional tips for life without the full use of your dominant hand, I'd be happy to hear those too.
I'll be getting physical therapy to get my hand back in shape, but I could use some help figuring out what to do with the rest of my human body.
Caveats:
- No water, can't get hand wet for some time
- I hate running
If you have any additional tips for life without the full use of your dominant hand, I'd be happy to hear those too.
When I broke my dominant hand, I used the down time to learn to write with my non dominant hand. I also still eat lefty 12+ years later.
For exercise, I rode a stationary bike.
posted by AugustWest at 4:41 PM on March 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
For exercise, I rode a stationary bike.
posted by AugustWest at 4:41 PM on March 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: If you wanted to stick with yoga, you might be able to replace downward dog with dolphin, Extended Puppy Pose, or Child's pose.
posted by foxfirefey at 4:45 PM on March 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by foxfirefey at 4:45 PM on March 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
I feel like I say this every time an exercise thread comes up, but: Zumba, depending on your range of motion. You may run into an instructor who occasionally pops some push-ups/etc into a routine, but you can modify.
posted by joycehealy at 4:48 PM on March 1, 2016
posted by joycehealy at 4:48 PM on March 1, 2016
Depending on what you mean by "handsfree" and "workout", maybe Tai Chi? Could at least help maintain balance and flexibility while you can't do yoga.
posted by veery at 4:59 PM on March 1, 2016
posted by veery at 4:59 PM on March 1, 2016
I broke my elbow snowboarding last month, and I have another 8 weeks to go before I can put weight on that arm, so I feel you.
You can still do yoga, just don't do downward dog. There are lots of good poses that don't require putting weight on your hands. Squats and lunges, and even sit-ups can be done hands-free.
If that back stretch is what you need in your life, get a foam roller. It's also a good way to open up the shoulders, etc, without using your hands.
Does it hurt to move it at all? When I first broke my elbow, even the gentle motion of walking was too much. If that's the case, be patient and wait. Injuries like this are no fun, but screwing up the healing process by pushing yourself too fast sucks even more.
posted by ananci at 4:59 PM on March 1, 2016
You can still do yoga, just don't do downward dog. There are lots of good poses that don't require putting weight on your hands. Squats and lunges, and even sit-ups can be done hands-free.
If that back stretch is what you need in your life, get a foam roller. It's also a good way to open up the shoulders, etc, without using your hands.
Does it hurt to move it at all? When I first broke my elbow, even the gentle motion of walking was too much. If that's the case, be patient and wait. Injuries like this are no fun, but screwing up the healing process by pushing yourself too fast sucks even more.
posted by ananci at 4:59 PM on March 1, 2016
Best answer: I was in this exact position last winter. I used the leg press machine at my gym to build up my quads. I also used the leg extension machines to target other muscles in my legs. I did standing squats at home and ran on a treadmill. If you hate running, try using a spin bike instead. You can also do sit ups, crunches, bicycle crunches, maybe planks depending on the injury.
posted by deathpanels at 5:19 PM on March 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by deathpanels at 5:19 PM on March 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
If you want to do yoga, a good instructor should be able to modify poses so that you're not putting weight on your dominant hand. (I sprained my wrist 6 months ago, so I have some experience with this.) Go a little bit early and talk to the instructor-- if they seem unsure, you can bail at that point.
posted by tuesdayschild at 5:30 PM on March 1, 2016
posted by tuesdayschild at 5:30 PM on March 1, 2016
Did you see this previous question "fitness for someone with hand damage"? Mostly we recommended dance classes, but maybe you'll see something useful.
If you've got a gym that does classes, go through the list and thoughtfully evaluate how much hand action each one involves (maybe while consulting with the front desk person unless they're just a phone-answerer). You may end up trying something you'd never even considered (step aerobics! zumba! kickboxing!).
When I hurt my foot, I could do a particular subset of yoga poses, and I could modify another subset, and there was no way I was going near others. I would not have considered going to class, it would have felt too disruptive. But I did put on some videos at home, and do whatever seemed reasonable without the feeling that I'd have a whole class staring at me. Try doyogawithme.com, especially classes that focus on hips or shoulders; the standard flows just don't flow with an injury, I found that more focused videos worked better.
posted by aimedwander at 5:57 PM on March 1, 2016
If you've got a gym that does classes, go through the list and thoughtfully evaluate how much hand action each one involves (maybe while consulting with the front desk person unless they're just a phone-answerer). You may end up trying something you'd never even considered (step aerobics! zumba! kickboxing!).
When I hurt my foot, I could do a particular subset of yoga poses, and I could modify another subset, and there was no way I was going near others. I would not have considered going to class, it would have felt too disruptive. But I did put on some videos at home, and do whatever seemed reasonable without the feeling that I'd have a whole class staring at me. Try doyogawithme.com, especially classes that focus on hips or shoulders; the standard flows just don't flow with an injury, I found that more focused videos worked better.
posted by aimedwander at 5:57 PM on March 1, 2016
As someone who pretty regularly is without use of one or both of my hands to some degree, I feel your pain.
How completely without the arm are you going to be? No motion in just the fingers? The wrist? The whole arm?
You can still do a ton of yoga positions without use of one or both hands. If grip and reach are the problem, consider a therapy band that you can wrap around your leg/ankle and pull with the other hand in place of the no go one.
posted by strixus at 6:02 PM on March 1, 2016
How completely without the arm are you going to be? No motion in just the fingers? The wrist? The whole arm?
You can still do a ton of yoga positions without use of one or both hands. If grip and reach are the problem, consider a therapy band that you can wrap around your leg/ankle and pull with the other hand in place of the no go one.
posted by strixus at 6:02 PM on March 1, 2016
Agreeing that you can continue doing yoga. A key concept of yoga is that each "pose" appears in multiple orientations: mountain and corpse, side plank and tree, etc. As suggested above, dolphin, extended puppy (DD with a chair), child's pose, and others (seated DD to a wall, and so on) are appropriate substitutions giving the same benefits with similar pose structure, rotated differently.
Any good yoga teacher will be able to suggest modifications for you during a class or private session. There is no reason you can't practice yoga effectively with a hand, wrist, or elbow problem.
posted by kcm at 6:42 PM on March 1, 2016
Any good yoga teacher will be able to suggest modifications for you during a class or private session. There is no reason you can't practice yoga effectively with a hand, wrist, or elbow problem.
posted by kcm at 6:42 PM on March 1, 2016
Your PT or someone in their office may actually be able to help you design an exercise program, in addition to rehabbing your arm. My PT was able to help me a lot with this when I was recovering from elbow surgery.
When I broke my collarbone I went for long walks uphill, and that at least got me outside and helped me not feel like an irritable brain on a stick; I also went on a snowshoe hike with a (pretty novice) group a few weeks in, once light jouncing around didn't make it hurt anymore, and that was fine also.
The other thing I'll add is on the psychological side. After both of those above incidents, when I came back to the gym I felt like just the biggest potato, like I was in even worse shape than I was in before I started exercising at all. But that was temporary; it didn't actually take that long before I was back to where I was. So part of my advice would be, do what you can in the meantime, but ultimately don't freak out if your overall fitness takes a hit while you're recuperating, because it will come back quicker than it seems like it's going to.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:55 PM on March 1, 2016
When I broke my collarbone I went for long walks uphill, and that at least got me outside and helped me not feel like an irritable brain on a stick; I also went on a snowshoe hike with a (pretty novice) group a few weeks in, once light jouncing around didn't make it hurt anymore, and that was fine also.
The other thing I'll add is on the psychological side. After both of those above incidents, when I came back to the gym I felt like just the biggest potato, like I was in even worse shape than I was in before I started exercising at all. But that was temporary; it didn't actually take that long before I was back to where I was. So part of my advice would be, do what you can in the meantime, but ultimately don't freak out if your overall fitness takes a hit while you're recuperating, because it will come back quicker than it seems like it's going to.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:55 PM on March 1, 2016
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Outdoor hiking.
Some of the exercises in Pavel Tsatulouine's Relax into Stretch may help a yoga jones.
posted by asockpuppet at 4:41 PM on March 1, 2016