7 Sports & At Home Exercices Without Weight Bearing

1. Stationary Bike

You can try a stationary bike with no resistance or minimal resistance (25W). Concerned about putting too much weight on your foot while pedaling?

Most of your body weight is supported by the seat, making this exercise feasible even without bearing weight on your foot.

Start slowly for 1-2 minutes to see how your body reacts.

If there’s no pain or it subsides after stopping, you can gradually increase your time.

🚨 When is biking contraindicated?

• If you have an unstable fracture needing minimal movement in the ankle or knee.
• If you’re at high risk of poor healing due to complex fractures, severe displacement, osteoporosis, or other risk factors.

Discuss with your physical therapist or doctor if you have any doubts.

2. Bodyweight Strengthening Exercises

This type of exercise is the simplest to implement from this list!

No special equipment needed: You can do any movement as long as you don’t put weight on your foot.

For example, abdominal exercises can be performed without placing weight on the injured foot

2. Bodyweight Strengthening Exercises

Although your foot may be on the ground, it doesn’t bear much weight due to your position. So, even with a cast, you don’t have to keep it elevated!

You can perform bodyweight exercises in various positions:

• Lying on your back
• Lying on your stomach
• Sitting on a chair
• Standing on the leg that can bear weight

🚨 The key is to avoid putting weight on the injured foot and to follow any other specific contraindications, like not bending the knee too much if you have a patella fracture.

3. Strength Training with Machines

If you usually do a lot of sports or weight training, bodyweight exercises alone might not be enough.

You can use additional weights, resistance bands, or machines, but avoid putting weight on the injured lower limb.

For example:

• Use the leg press with your uninjured leg only.
• Perform leg curls with the non-injured leg.

4. Walking

Walking is possible even without bearing weight on your foot, except in rare cases like a pelvic fracture where you can’t stand for weeks. In most cases, you just need to adjust how you walk.

If you’re not allowed to put weight on one foot, use crutches or a walker, depending on your balance. You can walk with toe-touch weight-bearing or strictly no weight-bearing.

Check out my complete guide on how to walk without putting your foot on the ground.

As long as you don’t feel significant pain, or it stops when you rest, you can walk almost unlimited distances without weight-bearing.

If you’re used to walking or exercising a lot, you might walk hundreds of meters or even kilometers without weight-bearing.

If not, you might only manage a few meters at first.

Gradually increasing your walking time or distance daily is beneficial!

5. Swimming

Do you have access to a pool, hydrotherapy, or can easily get to a public pool? Swimming might be an option since the water supports your body.

However, water resistance varies with movement. The type of stroke you can use depends on your injury and comfort level.

🚨 When is swimming contraindicated?

🟠 If you have a cast. Even with waterproof cast covers prolonged immersion isn’t recommended.

🔴 If you have an unhealed wound.

🔴 If you have an unstable fracture that requires minimal movement in your leg joints (ankle, knee, hip).

🔴 If you’re at high risk for poor healing due to a complex, severely displaced fracture, osteoporosis, or other risk factors.

6. Rowing Machine

To use a rowing machine with a cast or injured foot without weight-bearing, you have two options.

You can place the injured foot next to the other on the rower, pushing only with the non-injured leg. Alternatively, you can position the non-weight-bearing leg outside the rower, though this depends on the machine’s design.

🚨 In any case, avoid pushing with the injured foot, as it would impose more strain than a stationary bike.

7. Suspension Training (TRX)

TRX involves using adjustable straps anchored to a fixed point like a pull-up bar, door, or pole. It allows for more challenging exercises without needing much equipment.

🚨 Again, ensure not to bear weight on the injured foot.