(covers sessions on 9/15, 9/17, and 9/22)
Hello, yes I have been bad in keeping up with my blog posts. Blame it on work. I've quite the busy bee lately. I only have one more session left on this prescription and it's just in time. Today was a good day. My physio cleared me to start practicing and scrimmaging! YAAAAAAY! I can't believe it. The last 3 sessions have been pretty much the same, but with more and more agility ladder. Since I seem to handle that without much pain and no swelling I am ready to get back out there to really test out my knee. Hopping on a little ladder is no substitute for the real thing. I am a bit nervous because my side steps are still not as strong as I want them to be, but the aide says to keep practicing them everyday so I get stronger.
My fitness is no where near game ready so some movement on the field will be great. I can't believe it's almost been 4 months since I put on my cleats and suited up for a game. I'm a bit anxious about getting out there. I remember when I came back from my last knee surgery I did not have pain, but it felt weird. Just a bit weak I suppose. I'll take weird over pain any day. There are no more mini-gols for me. It's time for the real GOL, which is getting out there and scoring one. So I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
My Routine:
- 5 minute warm up on spin bike -
- 5 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest -
- 5 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest -
- 15 minutes running on the treadmill - this has been tough lately, but today I upped the speed because my legs felt like they wanted to go faster. Good sign!
- 30 x 3 quad sets with 5 second hold -
- 30 pumps times 3 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 x 3 quad raises -
- Ham string bridges - 15 sec hold -15 pelvic pumps - 15 sec hold x 3 - These have been tiring lately.
- 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.
- 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 between the shuttle holds. I was not getting rest at all with these
- Pyramids on the Leg Press with Left Leg - 20 reps at 40 lbs, 15 reps at 50 lbs, and then 10 reps at 60 lbs x 3 sets
- Shuttle Bounding- 10 single leg bounds, 10 on the right, 10 on the left, repeat, 10 double leg bounds x 3 sets -The trainer wanted me to do more single leg hops to really work them out.
- 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. 10 pumps up and down. Position 3 - reach through between legs, 20- reps. Then back to position 1 and 5 pumps, and hold 10 seconds while it burns! 3 sets of this. Of course these kicked my butt
- 20 x 3 - Standing calf raises . This was my break time from the squats.
- Agility Bridge - a series of exercises where I step in and out going side ways and then stepping straight through. Each exercise I did like 4 sets so I was really working hard. The last exercise was side stepping very quickly. I could do it really fast when going right to left, but going the other way was tough. My left leg was not firing as quickly as my right. This is what I need to practice on my own.
- Trainer did quad and hamstring stretches
- Ice to go
(describes session on 8/18) More than 2 1/2 months of no real running finally came to an end today! I reached a really important mini-gol. This weekend my legs were exhausted. 2 days in a row of therapy and then dancing all night on Friday on heels, plus I've started doing more at home exercises and I blasted my abs. All were sore through out the weekend so I was a bit ansy about this session since I knew I was probably going to start running, but I was ok in the end. Since the cardio is increasing I'm wearing my iPod now to push me through it.
The day was pretty busy so the aide was not able to keep me going from exercise to exercise without rest. This did not really matter since my exercises are getting more intense on their own. I did not get any time with my physio, but he is definitely giving my aide some new things for my regimen. According to my aide next I'll be alternating between the shuttle and the leg press. I will be doing a bit more jumping type exercises on the ground not on the shuttle and side to side exercises are not far along after that. So my next mini-gol will be running for longer time at faster speeds. Today was just to jog and get the feeling back of running in my legs. On the side, I think I'm ready to start kicking the ball around with my teams just to start getting my touch back. yay! Everything is progressing really well. I was having a little pain in the injured area when I bent my leg all the way quickly, but I think that's because I really worked my legs a lot last week.
My Routine:
- 7 minute warm up on spin bike
- 7 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest - went well with a fast merengue song playing in my ears.
- 7 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. Again having my ipod really helped me power through these. I did most of them up to 30 seconds long except for the last one.
- 20 x 3 quad sets with 5 second hold - were fine.
- 15 x 3 quad set with 3 second leg raise - was a bit tough. the biofeedback gadget was hard to keep turned on the whole time.
- 40x10x30x10x20x10 times 3. Quad pumps on the table. Same position as quad set except heel is off the table. Hold 10 then pump 40 then hold, then pump.... All the while keeping your biofeedback reading at maximum activation. Again this was tough because the biofeedback was not staying lit up the whole time.
- Ham string bridges - 15 sec hold -15 pelvic pumps - 15 sec hold x 3 - powered through these. I miss doing these next to a mirror where I can really self regulate my form and I can admire my muscle tone. ;)
- NEW: 4 minute warm up walk, 10 minutes of 1 minute jogging and 2 minutes walking. - Yes I know it was not hardcore running for very long or very fast, but the aide told me the point is to get my legs used to running again and make sure I'm doing it properly, not compensating for my injury.
- Shuttle work - on my back with leg up on vertical platform doing holds near 90 degrees. Did a few full range pumps.These were not that bad. The aide pawned me off on another aide and she helped me get through the last 2 sets.
- 20 x 2 - Calf raises on the shuttle. This was my break time from the holds.
- NEW: 20 double leg bounds, Single leg bounds, 10 on the right, 10 on the left repeat each side, 20 double leg bounds. 2 sets of these. This was crazy and why he only made me do 2 sets. I was really tired after this, but at least my landing was looking good.
- 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. This was burning a lot. I did not get the breaks I usually get so I was really trying hard.
- 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, 15- reps. Put hands on ground and pump 10 times then back to position 3 x 3 sets. The 2nd and 3rd sets were different, the aide pretty much made me put all my weight on my injured leg and do the pumps and holds on it to really work that leg. I was dying, but the point was to really work the injured leg and force it into submission.
- Standing calf raises - 15 x 3 sets - these were my breaks from the squats
- Aide did quad and hamstring stretches
- Ice to go
Today was a good day! I was a bit skeptical because I went camping this past weekend and was bending a bit more and ran a little, after some kids, so my knee felt a little funny. Not pain, but just funny right where the injury is. Today though, my physio told me to hop on both legs. No problems. Hop on my good leg, then hop on my left leg. I was kind of scared, but it was fine. No pain or discomfort so he added bounding to my routine and next time standing up sprints on the spin bike. Read more below.
At the end of my session as I waited to get iced my physio was saying how far I've come since I first started and how happy he was at my progress. I could not help but beam a smile all day. Once I get my up and down exercises going, he'll start throwing in the side to side stuff. if my knee can take it then I'll be back on the soccer field. WOOO HOOO! Back to Gol!
My Routine:
- 7 minute warm up on spin bike
- 7 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest
- 20 x 3 quad sets with 5 second hold - I think I was still asleep because I kept losing count
- 15 x 3 quad set with 3 second leg raise -again lost count, but I think I did 45 in all.
- 40x10x30x10x20x10 times 3. Quad pumps on the table. Same position as quad set except heel is off the table. Hold 10 then pump 40 then hold, then pump.... All the while keeping your biofeedback reading at maximum activation. This was a bit tough, not sure if my leg was tired or the bio feedback wasn't calibrated correctly. I could not keep the light activated the whole time.
- Ham string bridges - 15 sec hold -15 pelvic pumps - 15 sec hold x 5 - Watched myself in the mirror to make sure I wasn't cheating on these. They were tiring.
- 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.
- Shuttle work - on my back with leg up on vertical platform doing holds near 90 degrees. Did a few full range pumps. Holds were tough to maintain. The aide had me do some of these on my own since he had another patient. I was burning myself out by holding positions.
- 20 x 2 - Calf raises on the shuttle. This was my break time from the holds.
- NEW - 20 x 3 - bounding on the shuttle. Meaning I do jumps. I'm horizontal on the shuttle so I'm not landing with 100% of my weight. Felt good. My lands were not jarred and were relatively smooth. This is a good sign because once I get on the soccer field I will need to be able to land smoothly or risk locking my knee and getting injured again.
- Standing calf raises - 15 x 3 sets. I tried to do these without holding onto something for balance. I almost fell on my bum. I guess my legs were a bit tired from the jumping.
- Squats - position 1 - squat arms crossed but pointing outwards from my chest. Hold here and then 10 pumps up and down. Position 2 - Deeper squat, stick that booty out and put arms out superman style, but still keep the back straight. Kept a hold there for a little bit before. Position 3 - reach through between legs, 15- reps. This was killing again. Burns your whole quad from hip to the knee. Back to position 1 and hold x 3. This is getting less hard. However, my right quad felt like it was working harder so in my last set my aide made sure I stayed aligned and pushed harder on my left leg. Whozzers were my legs ready to collapse after that set, but no pain. Yay!
- Ice to go
