I feel good

Nana-nana-nana-nah!  Who knew that I would after last weeks little breakdown but here I am back in the ring and fighting stronger than ever...look out Rocky because the Tashinator is in town.  Bahahahahaha I crack myself up I'm that corny!

PHYSIOTHERAPY NEWS

Yesterday I had a Physiotherapy Session with Kusal from Vigor Sports Medicine Clinic and despite nearly falling over from the invoice of $99.00 for 30 minutes I walked out in tears of happiness (I'm a sook lately I know) and with a smile from ear to ear.

If you have been following my blog (thank you) you will remember that last week my surgeon was less than positive and pretty much told me my lack of progress was due to me not doing enough blah blah blah (it's HERE if you didn't read it and want to).

So ANYWAY here is what Kusal (who works with Olympic athletes) said.

Most people who have my type of surgery take a minimum of 12 weeks to get to where I am after only 7 weeks post-op, so I am actually 5 weeks in front.

Currently I have only got about 40% to 45% (on really good day) leg function but he is confident that I will regain 90% (better than the odds my surgeon gave me) if not 100% BUT it will take time.

The Quad muscle needs work BUT not as much as I have been doing because it has actually been too much (see HERE for the exercises I have been doing).  He has give me '3' exercises to focus on.  Any other exercises after these 3 are a bonus but must be done within reason and not to the extent that it will compromise recovery time.

Quad Press - Sitting with legs straight out tighten the thigh by pushing the back of the knee to the floor - wait for Quad to engage around knee and then raise heel and hold for five seconds, relax.  Repeat x 10 times x 3 sets.

Wall Squats- With feet shoulder width apart and 30cm - 45cms away from the wall, slowly lower your buttocks toward the floor.  Stop at the point before pain occurs.  Hold for five seconds then return to the starting position. Repeat x 10 times x 3 sets.  (Ensure that weight is evenly placed on both feet).

Heel Raises - Stand facing a wall with hands up above head slightly wider than shoulder width apart and raise heels off the floor as high as possible and repeat x 15 times x 3 sets.

I only need to go back to Vigor once a fortnight as it is obvious that I have the motivation and skills to do home physiotherapy, he did however say that keeping once a week with the hospital physiotherapist would be ok.  I have an appointment in 2 weeks to see Henry who specialises in Exercise Prescription.

He also said that I can do Hydrotherapy (but no kicking if I swim - arms only) so I brought a Pool Pass ($100 for unlimited sessions between now and July when it closes - but by then I'll be able to drive to Genesis again anyway) and had my first session yesterday afternoon.  I only did 30 minutes but it was enough.  I plan on going to Hydro at least 3 times a week.

I did 3 sets of 10 reps of the following:

Squats

Single Leg Squats (Left and Right)

Lunges (Left and Right) - these hurt a bit with my 'right' leg behind so I couldn't go down very far but better than nothing.

Calf Raises

I also walked, did knee lifts and 'attempted' to jog up and down and around the pool and then swam laps to get my heart rate up as well as up and down the stairs a couple of times.

PERSONAL TRAINING NEWS  

So despite my leg only having 40% function I managed to do a 500 calorie burn workout this morning - WHOO HOO!!  What an amazing feeling it is to know that I can still achieve awesome results without being able to do everything that I used to do.  I am so thankful to Craig for coming up with ways to work around 'the leg' and for his patience and compassion.

Here's what I did today

Warm up on the Rower

I started off using my legs but needed to isolate them for the last 2 rounds and so I just used my upper body and did more of a hip flexion action.

500 metre sprint - 30 second rest

400 metre sprint - 30 second rest

300 metre sprint - 30 second rest

200 metre sprint - 30 second rest

100 metre sprint - 30 second rest

Wall Ball Squats - 3 sets x 15 reps

Calf Raises - 3 sets x 15 reps

Both legs then each individual
This was frustrating as the right leg really struggled

2 x Sets (weight increased for the 2nd round)

15 x Barbell Chest Press

10 x Leg Lowers

2 x Sets (weight machine)

10 x Chest Press (let me just say OUCH)

15 x Lat pulldowns (only did 10 in the 2nd set)

2 x Sets

15 x Shoulder Press

21's (1st round with 4kg DB's and 2nd with BB)

2 x Sets

30 Russian Twists with 5kg Medicine Ball

20 x Knee Lifts

20 x Crunches

Whoa is it any wonder I burnt 500 calories Phew!

PERSONAL NEWS

2 clients that I lost for PT's last week have come back again which is fantastic.

I spent some time this afternoon out in the garden taking some photos and it was just so relaxing.  I am going to share the photographs on my Natasha Hurst Photography facebook site soon.

That's all for now, it's already 2.30pm....see time really does fly I'll be doing box jumps and running marathons before I know it.