I tore my ACL, MCL, and Meniscus back in August, and had surgery about a month later in September. I’m right about 6 weeks post surgery, but I’m getting a little worried about conditioning.
Obviously, things like running and sprints are out of the question for the time being, but I am getting kind of tired of doing the same work over and over again. I’ve been back in the weightroom working my upperbody mostly, but I really want to get the cardio and heart rate through the roof again.
Any advice on conditioning for the time being until my leg is back up and running? I’ve been on the bike a lot, working with medicine balls, ropes, and tried doing complexes with pushups, BW squats, pull-ups etc. Any other advice on what I can run to get myself working hard again?
Tore my ACL and Meniscus when playing a college sport at the DI level, so I had the luxury of a full time training staff to look over my rehab daily. I am in no way qualified to give medical advice but having gone through the same thing I know exactly what you are feeling. The truth is that there is no way to keep yourself at the same type of conditioning level you were before assuming that your legs were conditioned to a high level.
Be careful with the BW squats, if your PT has you doing them concentrate on form and not so much conditioning. Listen to whoever is conducting your rehab also. The biggest thing is that you start to think you are fine and once you lose good form on a lower body exercise, you will start to compensate and you could set yourself up for a setback. The bike is honestly your best friend at this point.
Also when I got to the point where I could use the stair master (about the point you are at now) it totally kicked my butt. Getting in the pool is also a very good way to stay in shape. I know it is tough and you feel like you are getting out of shape, but the truth is that your most important job right now is to get that leg strong again. It takes a long time but once you can start building strength in the leg then you can start working on stamina and slowly get your conditioning back.
You are only a couple of weeks away from running. Don’t try to be superman and do too much. Long time reader and lurker who has never posted but it seemed like you didn’t get anyone to respond and I went through the same thing. It sucks that it happened and you have to realize it takes a long time before you are going to feel like you want to. Just embrace the process and look forward to the little milestones along your rehab.
Additionally, after your knee is feeling good and strong and you are cleared for sports, it only takes a couple weeks to get back into good conditioning form. Just watch the diet, hop on the bike, and get into a pool. It will be enough to keep yourself looking good.
[quote]tjamesdavis wrote:
I tore my ACL, MCL, and Meniscus back in August, and had surgery about a month later in September. I’m right about 6 weeks post surgery, but I’m getting a little worried about conditioning.
Obviously, things like running and sprints are out of the question for the time being, but I am getting kind of tired of doing the same work over and over again. I’ve been back in the weightroom working my upperbody mostly, but I really want to get the cardio and heart rate through the roof again.
Any advice on conditioning for the time being until my leg is back up and running? I’ve been on the bike a lot, working with medicine balls, ropes, and tried doing complexes with pushups, BW squats, pull-ups etc. Any other advice on what I can run to get myself working hard again?
Thanks![/quote]
Don’t forget to do exercises that allow you to keep your knee straight: reverse hypers, stiff-legged deads. I found that step-ups I could do pretty well post ACL rebuild, but reversing the motion just didn’t work so well for a while since the quad didn’t like it. Just start increasing the height.
As for working up to bodyweight squats, get a stool and do box squats. To increase the depth, stand on books until you are ready for a shorter chair/stool. End up doing “Amish weight lifting” (as I call it), where you shift the load gradually to the operated leg only, doing what is in effect an assisted pistol. I call it “Amish” because nobody but you can really tell if you are doing it, so it’s all on the honor system.
Work your way down to a decent bodyweight (or pistol if you can manage) box squat with depth. This should let you rehab yourself with a minimum of risk of injury and let you get some decent strength by the end of it so you can resume training without too much time spent starting over. Plan on doing this over the next couple of months.
Static sitting . You’ll see it in most cheesy kung fu movies . Squat down to a point you are comfortable with and just hold it there for time . Apparently used to strengthen the tendons .
[quote]laxfiend7632 wrote:
Tore my ACL and Meniscus when playing a college sport at the DI level, so I had the luxury of a full time training staff to look over my rehab daily. I am in no way qualified to give medical advice but having gone through the same thing I know exactly what you are feeling. The truth is that there is no way to keep yourself at the same type of conditioning level you were before assuming that your legs were conditioned to a high level.
Be careful with the BW squats, if your PT has you doing them concentrate on form and not so much conditioning. Listen to whoever is conducting your rehab also. The biggest thing is that you start to think you are fine and once you lose good form on a lower body exercise, you will start to compensate and you could set yourself up for a setback. The bike is honestly your best friend at this point.
Also when I got to the point where I could use the stair master (about the point you are at now) it totally kicked my butt. Getting in the pool is also a very good way to stay in shape. I know it is tough and you feel like you are getting out of shape, but the truth is that your most important job right now is to get that leg strong again. It takes a long time but once you can start building strength in the leg then you can start working on stamina and slowly get your conditioning back.
You are only a couple of weeks away from running. Don’t try to be superman and do too much. Long time reader and lurker who has never posted but it seemed like you didn’t get anyone to respond and I went through the same thing. It sucks that it happened and you have to realize it takes a long time before you are going to feel like you want to. Just embrace the process and look forward to the little milestones along your rehab.
Additionally, after your knee is feeling good and strong and you are cleared for sports, it only takes a couple weeks to get back into good conditioning form. Just watch the diet, hop on the bike, and get into a pool. It will be enough to keep yourself looking good. [/quote]
I am a Full Time Athletic Trainer and I completely agree with the above statement. This is great advice and it is coming from a source that knows what is what. Take the time to get your leg strong…eat correctly to control and weight loss and when you can get back to running ~12 weeks or more you will get your stamina back. The pool can really be your best friend. Use the pull boy and the kick board for different work outs. Talk to your therapist about running in the pool as well. Good luck!