Originally Posted by
unterhausen
I'm having ankle surgery and for my early recovery I can ride a trainer at low intensity. I'm thinking about losing a lot of height and weight in my settings so I can still do some distance. Do I want to change the trainer difficulty to zero percent?
I got my first trainer (a "dumb" trainer) after I had ankle surgery. This was a kurt kinetic, and the resistance was in the fly-wheel. I had to use a mountain bike in its lowest gears at first, and made slow progress by shifting upward a little bit each week. However, pain was the main impediment, and it correlated with resistance.
I had a bimalleolar fracture with internal fixations, and started this about 4 weeks after the surgery, when I was out of the cast. If you are fortunate enough not to have a cast, start as soon as possible.
Regaining full range of motion is the most important thing, and was the hardest for me, as I was too conservative and protective of the fracture. Cranking up the intensity can come later, but will be a lot easier if you have regained full range of motion.
It took me about 2 years before I could stand up on the pedals to hammer up a hill, and I still can't do it well.
I'm assuming you have a smart trainer. I only just got one a few weeks ago and haven't really figured out how they work, but I assume you can pre-set the resistance. Set it to whatever you can get away with, without having significant pain, to get a cadence of 60 to 80 rpm. This isn't the time to mash.
Good luck with the healing process. My surgeon gleefully informed me that most of my problems were with the soft tissue between my ears.