I have Plantar Fasciitis...no gym membership an exercise ideas?

I don't own a bike either. I'm kind of stuck for a cheap workout. Does anyone know of a chain gym that would do water aerobics? I have to stay off my treadmill and no walking/stairs at work for six weeks.

I need to burn calories.

Most gyms have ellipticals.  Yuo can also weight train.  YMCA's often have pools.  Your local public pools might also offer classes. 

The cost of a gym membership is not an option. Too expensive.  I asked the Dr. about weight training and he said it will be good but I need to burn calories to loss weight. He said I need to burn 500 calories a day with exercise. I have had no luck loosing weight. This could be interesting.

Hmmmm......

Have you thought about getting a Yoga tape or something like that?? You still burn alot of calories and all the stretching would be GREAT for your plantar fasciitis (I'm a Physical Therapy Assistant). You'll be surprised how great your muscles will feel once you are able to get back to working out after the yoga.

Check your local community college if they have classes.  I take a weight lifting and a cardio class at my comm college and for 12 weeks of classes its only $50 a semester hr per class -- lots cheaper than a gym membership plus no long term commitment.

I to have PF and had to stop walking - I say go to a podiatrist get custom made orthotics - ice the foot ( get a water bottle fill it 3/4 full of water freeze over night and run foot over it) 

I also purchased an elliptical for $300 at Walmart that has lasted well over 3 years with no problems.

Also not to offend your doctor - but (s)he hasn't a clue about weight lifting.  You can burn a good amt of calories in 45 minute workout of heavy lifting reshape your body and not to mention the "afterburn" and higher metabolism you get with more muscles.

I bought a used bike which had very little wear on it and use it - cheap

Do you have "Play It Again Sports" in your community? They sell used sports/exercise equipment

Original Post by dbackerfan:

Check your local community college if they have classes.  I take a weight lifting and a cardio class at my comm college and for 12 weeks of classes its only $50 a semester hr per class -- lots cheaper than a gym membership plus no long term commitment.

I to have PF and had to stop walking - I say go to a podiatrist get custom made orthotics - ice the foot ( get a water bottle fill it 3/4 full of water freeze over night and run foot over it) 

I also purchased an elliptical for $300 at Walmart that has lasted well over 3 years with no problems.

Also not to offend your doctor - but (s)he hasn't a clue about weight lifting.  You can burn a good amt of calories in 45 minute workout of heavy lifting reshape your body and not to mention the "afterburn" and higher metabolism you get with more muscles.

I have to agree with the above. I have PF and was told not to exercise in weight bearing exercise. I took up yoga and do muscle work outs concentrating on my calfs and ankles. The yoga stretching really helps. I also used TENS in the early days of exercise. Weight is a big factor of PF and once you loose weight and exercise and build strength in your legs and feet, the pain disapears.

Don't be afraid to exercise, that was my problem in the beginning. I also had substatial ankle rolling inwards, and I was advised not to do exercise that involved weight bearing, However in reality I had to do some gentle weight bearing exercise to start making any difference. For about 3 years I sat about grumbling in pain and gaining weight which made things worse. In the end even walking caused my foot to swell up like a balloon and in terrible pain, and I convinced myself that was it for me. It's a vicous circle, but in order to get out of that, you have to push yourself a little to start and gradually do more. Yes in the beginning it will hurt until you start to build up strength and loose weight, but the pain will get less and less and eventually the problem will go away!!

I know I am no medical expert, but I believe that sometimes professionals advise not to exercise to protect themselves in case you did injure yourself. After my personal exerience, I decided that in order for me to really improve things for myself, I had to push myself. It worked for me.

I have PF too. I think custom orthotics will cut your recovery time down significantly. My podiatrist didn't tell me to take off quite as long as yours did.

I have a gym membership so I did the recumbent bike and did weight machines that did not require me going up on the balls of my feet.

I did pilates and things like push ups and arm curls and the like. I got quite a workout.

The local rec center or community college may have water aerobics classes, but be aware...there is a lot of pushing up on your feet involved. The water helps mitigate the effects but you still have that motion stretching out that tendon on  your foot.

Ice helps a lot.

good luck.

Thank you so much everyone. I had someone at work offer me their "boot" to use at night. I heard it will help.

I'm still trying to figure it out. I've heard about so many people having this it's great to hear everyones thoughts.

Now I have to reduce my calories (limited exercise). My doctor seems to think because of my age (42, female) I am only burning about 1400 calories a day. I have my work cut out for me.

I have flat feet and get PF pain.  I been able to walk and even run with the right shoes and over the counter inserts.  There's a running store near me that tapes your walking and jogging and watches it in slow motion to see what correction you need. 

There's two components, correcting your overall movement (done by the shoes), and helping heal the arch and stop the pain (inserts).  So the best thing is to find a running store that offers both. 

If you go to a specialty footwear store, they will usually have various inserts, but not a lot of knowledge of the movement stuff.

Good luck!

And from my experience, the local non-franchise stores are the most knowledgeable.  Mall stores and huge sporting good stores don't seem to know any more than what the shoe companies tell them.