Weight Loss Progress: 229 Days and Achilles Tendonitis

A couple of years ago, I was out mowing my lawn on a hot summer day. I was coming down the home stretch and was more focused on getting out of the heat than watching what I was doing. I wound up stepping into a hole. My toes got hung up on the edge while my heel sunk into the ground.

A sharp pain in my heel snapped me out of my daydream and I wound up limping behind my lawnmower for the next few minutes. The pain wasn’t too bad until the following day. I woke up very stiff and I couldn’t put any weight on my foot.

I spent the next couple of days hoping that the pain would go away on its own. I finally gave in to my wife’s pressure to see a doctor. After a quick examination he informed me that I was suffering from achilles tendonitis as a result of stepping into the hole.

Image from the San Diego Running Institute

My doctor went on to explain that this was a common injury and that ice and rest would relieve the pain. His suggestion was to take a bucket and fill it with ice and water. I would have to submerge my foot into the water and flex my achilles tendon. The ice bath was not a pleasant experience but it helped a great deal. After a week, or so, I was back to normal activity.

I tell you this story because I’ve done it again. I wasn’t out mowing my lawn this time, instead I was running around a stubble corn field, trying to get warm, when I experienced the same pain in my heel.

The injury was a serious blow to my health and fitness goals. I didn’t want to be hobbling around the gym, from machine to machine, during my strength training routine. With all of the jumping involved in the Insanity, there was no way I could continue the program.

I went from being active 6 days per week to basically becoming sedentary. A couple of weeks went by before I felt good enough to return to exercise. I’m finding my rhythm again and am back in the gym. My strength has dropped off and I’m dealing with some post workout soreness but that is to be expected.

I haven’t gotten back into Insanity yet and I think I’m going to hold off for a while longer. I went for a run last week (first mile I ran in a couple of months) and by the time I finished my heel was sore. I have jogged since then with reduced pain but I still want to take it easy. The last thing I want to do is wind up limping around for another week.

I’m toying around with the idea of trying Focus T25 then jumping back to Insanity when finished. Whatever I decide, I ultimately want to be back to exercising 5 days per week. I think the key is going to be finding a low-impact cardio routine that I can do at home. I’m not hardcore enough to go out for a jog at 6am when the thermometer is reading 7 degrees.

Any suggestions for in-home, low-impact cardio exercises would be appreciated.