Got some bad news this week. I have a fractured scaphoid nonunion, that’s going to make me limited for at least the next 6 months. I can’t do anything that would involve my wrist.
I still feel I should to try to strengthen the muscles I can, during this time period.
What would you recommend?
You could use this time to focus on conditioning or body composition as the primary goal but here’s a few things that came to mind the avoids your wrist:
Back extensions
Lunges with weighted vest
Calf raises
Ab work
Zercher squats
Squats with weighted belt or vest
Rear foot elevated squats
You can still use the good wrist to curl press or work triceps too
Sled, SS bar, running, ab/low back work and jumping. You can get incredibly strong squatting and jumping and running. Your pressing strength will take a dive but will rebound quickly.
Injuries are part of the game, despite the rhetoric being spewed. Love what you can do and appreciate it. Don’t dwell on what you can’t do: that’s the attitude of a loser.
I remember Dan John wrote about having a broke wrist. He trained the other side with heavy one arm lifts and he felt it had carry over to the other side after all was said and done.
Heck man, get you some 5-10lb ankle weights, strap them on your wrists and take a run or shadow box for 30-45 minutes with them. You’ll maintain your muscle mass and keep your upper body conditioning so when you do come back to lift you’ll find you haven’t last much at all.
Get a weight vest and go for a hike.
Use bands around your forearms, hold with your feet, and do some curls. That will work your bicep and keep the tension off the wrist.
Move the band to your elbow and do some flys to work shoulders.
Yoga: planks, supermans.
Injuries suck but the good thing is they force you to get creative. Have fun with it. Focus on your diet as well. Good luck.
Would a weight vest for hills, box jumps, core/back work be a good option? If so, do you have a recommended vest?