How to Exercise with a Broken Foot

As you know, I have this problem called a broken foot. Quick explanation: I was skateboarding and fell off just right and landed on the side of my foot, consequently breaking it and causing a minor sprain at the same time! In fact, this has been a problem for about a month now, and it looks like I'll be in a boot for another month (I even walked across the stage for graduation in a boot!). So, how do I exercise? The thing is that now I can't run, causing a bigger problem of how I keep active. Well, allow me to present you with a few things that it turns out you can still do with a broken foot.

First, I should explain a bit about having an avulsion fracture. An avulsion fracture is quite common and (according to dictionary.com) is "a fracture occurring when a joint capsule, ligament, tendon, or muscle is pulled from a bone, taking with it a fragment of the bone to which it was attached". They are apparently quite common on the 5th metatarsal (pinky toe), which is what I broke. These specific breaks are often called a dancer's fracture because it happens so often to dancers. The picture to the left, is of an avulsion fracture, not my own, that I found online.

For the first week and an half I was on crutches and in a boot (I later learned that it probably should have been a cast for the first 2-3 weeks), and remain in a boot, but off of crutches since then. I am allowed (after a month) to do some basic exercises with it, but no dynamic exercises. Which means no running or jumping, which is fine since that stuff hurts. Yet, I am allowed to go on the elliptical and the bike for short periods of time (like 15-20 min at a time short), and I can go swimming! :D I went swimming for the first time yesterday and it was super nice! I did have limitations even in the water due to the injury, but overall, I could swim laps and even do some fancy tricks with my younger sister :)
I'm attempting to find an abs challenge that I can do even with my current limitation. If you have any, please send them on! Otherwise I'm taking from some sources and I will try and make my own workout (wish me luck with that).
Have any of you had to work through major injuries or surgeries due to a workout? What happened? Storytime? :D

Let's Get Some Things Straight

I have been an athlete for nearly all of my life, it wasn't until college that I actually stopped participating in sports. And I stopped because I developed a mild version of compartment's syndrome. That was my freshman year in college, less than a month into track season. Currently, I have a different sort of obstacle: an evulsion fracture on my 5th metatarsal (in easier words, I  broke my foot). I graduated from college with a BA in exercise science just over a week ago, and I'm using this blog as a way to document my fitness travels and experiences and what I have learned through my time.

Let me get a few things straight now, before I get too into this fitness blogging business. First off, I am not an athletic trainer. I am not a physical therapist. I am not a personal trainer (yet, gonna be working on that over the next year or so). So, what I say should not be taken as fitness law or anything. I am a mid-twenties post-undergrad student, trying to share my love for health and fitness with those who want to listen! Secondly, I am a vegetarian. Well, more a pesc-itarian, meaning I still eat fish, eggs, and milk. On my main blog, The Backup Zone, I do post some recipes when I get the time and the motivation to exercise. Third, don't expect this blog to be updated daily. I'm not a super human and I do need to go out and actually exercise and I am in the struggling path of finding a job currently...ugh. I will update as often as I can, and hopefully each time it will be with interesting facts and/or updates on my fitnessing (yes, that is now a word).

I would like to try some challenges, and I hope to use this blog to keep myself honest and to keep track of what I am doing. I'm not setting a goal weight, because right now, at 5'2" I weight a comfortable 127 lbs. I do want to work on toning, and if that means losing weight or gaining some, I don't mind so much. This is my outlook on fitness, that it is to show us our bodies as they can be, because they are what we make them into.

I think that's all for now, I'm sure I'll come up with more later, but for now I'll just say later, fitness friends!