Day 18: Side steppin'

Today I was in on a different day and later in the day. It was really crowded and hot. It's actually a hot day in San Francisco for a change. It seemed like a gym in there. Anyways, I had to do some of my routine on the ground since tables were not available. Another aide helped me do my squats because my aide had too many to juggle. I got the aide who's pretty hard core too and for my last exercise. Almost fell on my face from the exertion she made me go through. But at least she guided me through things and really made things work. No cheating with her.

My legs are feeling strong. Last time I ran on Tuesday my knee felt a little stiff the day of. I noticed some swelling on the back of the knee, but not too bad. The rest of the days nothing. Physio says we need to get to the point where there's no more swelling. I guess as I keep doing it and my recovery is shorter then I'm making progress. Today they finally added some side to side action. I was exhausted so too this pretty easy, but no pain! Whoo hoo!

I have not reached either of my two last mini-gols yet. If today I do not feel swelling in my knee then I'll get one. The other, to get my strength up on both legs will mean some work for me this weekend. As I was doing my quad sets I could really see the definition in my left thigh. I did the same on my right and not so much. Left one feels hard and the right a little soft. I measured them though and at least they are the same size. My thighs have grown like an inch or so since I started. I'm not sure what size they were before getting injured. If my clothes are fitting funky I won't pay attention to it. Back in the day during volleyball season, my jeans would start to fit me tight from the massive trunks of my thighs I would get. Well in this case the bigger my quads the harder I'll be shooting. Watch out now! I'll be back to GOL with some bullets.

My Routine:

• 5 minute warm up on spin bike -
  
• 5 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest - it was hot so I was not pushing to the max
  
• 5 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest - The correct position is to just lift your bum out of the seat but still sit back as if you were in it. My iPod music is getting boring. I need to change this up.
  
• 15 minutes running on the treadmill - I warmed up a minute today and ran the rest. I was definitely struggling today. Not sure if it was the heat or what. I ran at a slower pace. The music helped me power through to the end, but I was ready to drop at like minute 7.
  
• 30 x 3 quad sets with 5 second hold - they upped the reps here to make it a bit harder. I did not have a bio feedback on so I could see how my whole thigh looked while flexing. Looking pretty yoked!
  
• 60 pumps times 2 sets. Quad pumps on the table. Same position as quad set except heel is off the table. A lot more reps of this definitely worked my leg a good amount.
• 30 leg raises x 2 sets - really worked my quad out
• Shuttle holds x 3 sets - go through various holds.
  
• 20 Heel raises x 2 - In a row. My legs were tired so had to concentrate
  
• Shuttle Bounding- 100 double leg bounds, 20 single leg bounds, 5 on the right, 5 on the left repeat each side, 10 double leg bounds x 3 sets -I think the aide dropped the reps because he saw I was more tired than usual. It was rough. My legs really wanted to give out.
• Ham string bridges - 15 sec hold -15 pelvic pumps - 15 sec hold x 3 - powered through these. Like all my exercises today.
  
• Side leg lifts - On my side, position 1 is my left leg out straight and I push up on aide's hand for 15 second count then do 15 pumps with the weight of his hand on my leg giving resistance. Position 2, same thing except leg is bent 90 degrees but knees still aligned. Position 3, bring knee into my chest and do leg lifts. Do this for 3 sets. Started to burn pretty good in the 3rd set.
• Squats - position 1 - squat arms crossed but pointing outwards from my chest. Hold here and then 15 pumps up and down. Position 2 - Deeper squat, stick that booty out and put arms out superman style, but still keep the back straight. 5 pumps up and down. Position 3 - reach through between legs, 10- reps. Then back to position 1 and 5 pumps, no holds and done. 3 sets of this. Another aide was working with me. She was hard. She'd ask me "How I was doing?" with a sadistic look. She made sure to keep a hand on me to see if I was cheating. In position 2 and 3 she would push me down and I had to push up even during the pumps. Definitely worked my legs more, but at least I knew when I'd be done after the last 5 pumps. The first set as I tried to stand up straight my right leg gave out and I almost fell on my face. Sheesh! The aide's all, "Now that's a good squat!" Crazy! But I made it through 3 sets.
  
• 20 x 3 - Standing calf raises . This was my break time from the squats.
• NEW: 15 Lateral steps x 3 sets - take a wide step to the side and hop to that leg all while staying down low in a squat position. Felt good. I was so tired though from my squats, that I just stepped, not really hopping. No pain, but I will need to increase my air time with these to really test my knee on the landing. We'll see how it goes.
  
• Aide did quad and hamstring stretches
  
• Ice to go