Today I went to the LA Fitness Center, using a complimentary one day pass. Spouse dropped me off around 1pm and I called him to pick me up around 3:30pm. I finally got some aerobic exercise and that seemed to help the swelling in my right leg. I have an appointment tomorrow at 4:30pm to see Dr. Church about the swelling but right now, it's mostly gone.
First, I used the weight machines, trying out all that didn't involve putting weight on my foot. I enjoyed the muscle workout but had been doing upper body resistance work, abs, lower body floor exercises, yoga and stretches since Thursday when I stopped walking. Still, it was a thrill to give my body a good workout!
Then, I went into the cardio room. I did 20 minutes on the recumbent stepper. That was really good and didn't seem to bother my foot. Then I tried out the liquid rower but didn't like how I had to deeply flex my knees on the forward motion so I only did a few minutes on that. I saw that the Expresso Bike was free so I hopped on it. It has baskets for the toes so it didn't bother my heel. It has a TV screen that shows the make-believe course you are riding. I did 2 miles. There are also 2 more not as fancy upright exercise bikes that have baskets for the toes that I can use when the Expresso is busy. I get the feeling that it's a popular piece of equipment and there's only one.
I tried a couple of the different stair steppers for a few minutes but I'm not sure they're good for my foot so I didn't pursue those. I finished up with 10 minutes on a recumbent bike but that may have bothered my heel a little because it doesn't have the toe baskets which seem to confine the force to the forefoot.
The gym seems like a nice place and it would really help my hiking and walking (when I resume) to have options for cross-training. Classes are also offered which would provide more cross-training options. I need to figure out my strategy. I should go a few more times - maybe buy a 10 day pass - to see if the cardio machines bother my foot. My heel doesn't hurt like it did when I last walked on Wednesday but there is the tiniest, subtlest not pain but just a slight feeling of knobby tenderness in the heel area.
I use the walker around the house but have not used it in public at all. I want the doctor to prescribe a cane for when I go out and about around town. I felt comfortable limping around LA Fitness Center. The walker seems like overkill to me. I've stopped walking on it and I think that the mild limping I would do with a cane will cause no further harm. I'm very happy to have found a way to exercise yet not hurt my foot!!