Training Log Archive: Carbons Offset

A good night, able to change positions without issue but not able to stay there comfortably for too long. Better than before. A few little clicks and pops around the knee as I change position. Nothing too big but the pop when I tore the ACL wasn’t big either so that makes you just a little nervous.

Spin 1. 20 min. 60 watts average, 5th gear. Still felt okay at the end.

Exercise 1. No adduction.

Exercise 2: leg raises with stim, squats with stim, calf raises.

Dumbbell curls
Inverse push ups with feet on second stair
40s (deltoids) with 15 lbs
Tricep extension on pulleys
Seated row on pulleys
Myotatic crunch with 7.5 lbs
Front plank x 2
Cat vomit

Spin 1. 18 min. Avg 31W.
Felt looser from the beginning, felt a bit easier than usual, kept going a few minutes longer. In easiest gear. Foot positioned normally on pedal, without running shoe (she adds too much stack height). Maybe try adding the gear again.

Exercises 1. Flexion wall slides are feeling easy; tempted to start pushing these a little again. Two legged calf raises felt strong; did sets of 15 reps easily without holding onto anything.
Added the two new sets of exercises from yesterday with Ben.

Spin 2. Tried adding a gear and it still felt just as easy. Added more and more and it felt the same. Up to 6th and decided not to load it on too much. Quite happy with this, it feels like the tightness in the knee isn’t holding me back now and I will soon be able to get a real workout out of this, and prepare for real riding outside in 2 more weeks. Avg 70 watts. 17 min.

Exercise 2

C • 70 Watts!! 2

Spin 15. Felt tight. Kept it even slower and easier than usual. Loosened up a bit after about 5 minutes or so but still happy to stop at 15 minutes.
Session 1 exercises seemed fine. Flexion seems good even though we’ve decided not to push for more progress.

Physio with Ben
I had been having some catching, sometimes bad, when I would try to walk normally. While some things like range of motion were progressing well, the catching felt like we should stop. That said, over the last couple of days it eased a little from a catching to a less alarming clicking. Ben dug some fingers into me to release some muscles, in hopes it would help things track better. Today it didn’t click so much but had some discomfort, as if bare bones were rubbing against each other at the medial side of the kneecap and the joint line. Managing an even more normal gait. I think we are okay to keep moving forward rather than having to stop everything.
Got two new exercises to work on glutes and abs:

Lay on back with knees up at 90 degrees. Wrap Theraband around spread shins and up around thighs, then hold out to sides. 3 alternating sets of 10 reps with knees wider than ankles or ankles wider than knees, flexing obliques while I extend arms out to sides. At the end of each set, hold arms out and use glutes to extend lower leg (knee and shin) apart, repeating until it burns.

Lay on side with 8-10 lb weight held straight up. Knees bent 90 and legs stacked. Push off lower leg to lead with upper leg, using glutes and then abs to rotate body to centre and then back. 10 on each side, 3 full sets of both sides.

Try to walk normally after these. Gait was getting pretty good but still had discomfort on medial side of joint line.

Spin 1. 15 min. Getting around easily with some pull on the front of the knee still. Kept it to 15 min. Feels like I could add a gear soon.
Session 1 exercises.

Spin 2. 15 min. Added a gear. Watts didn’t change. Rotations are pretty easy but slight pulling below knee cap and also a little behind knee.
Session 2 exercises.

Spin 15 min
Session 1

Spin 15 min. 27 watts average. Boom! Rotations felt easier and less restricted but still feeling some pulling in the flesh around the lower incision, so not craving more than the 15 minutes yet. Longer spins will come when everything feels good. Still in granny gear.
Session 2
Squats feel fairly smooth and easy. No catching.

Physio visit:
Flexion is at 110 degrees. Nice.
Deciding to not push the flexion too aggressively so as to not aggravate scarring or cause more.
Do the wall slide flexion as a warm up but not pushing range.
Don’t need to do extensions anymore but do leg raises with muscle stim.
Doing two-legged squats with muscle stim, just 30 degrees, 2 x 10, no hold.
Can still do adduction but not too critical.
Won’t do standing lunges yet because it may bug meniscus/scarring. Did some at physio and am able to do them, but will hold off for now.
Still don’t try coming down stairs normally yet.
Do bike spin before exercises as a warm up. Can increase from 15 to 30 minutes but increase gradually and listen to body.
Do all exercises and spins twice a day.

Spin: 15 min. Granny gear. Avg 17 watts. Knee felt happy to stop at 15 minutes; it feels tight down the front below the kneecap and around the lower incision.
Flexion wall slides for 3 minutes, just saying in the easier range of flexion. Probably still getting 95 degrees.
Leg raises with muscle stim.
two-legged squats with stim, just 30 degrees, 2 x 10, no hold.
Two-legged calf raises, 2 x 10
Two glute exercises: one all fours and extending leg straight back 4 x 10 sec, and on stomach with knee bent at 90 degrees and raising for 2 sec x 10.
Adduction
Standing calf stretch.

Spin 15 min
Exercises. (As above)

Just a little bit easier trying to sleep in different positions but again couldn’t last long.

Session 1
Good. Again, good flexion, a tiny bit more progress.

Not sure if a little bit of scarring is getting worked through; the beginning of the knee bend when walking might have a little less issue.

Spin, 15 min. Getting around pretty easily with a little bit of tightness pulling from below the kneecap. Didn’t put any resistance on but should probably add the smallest amount next time.

Session 2
Again I feel like the flexion keeps creeping a little further. Damn, I’m gonna be done this recovery in another week ;) ha!

Spin. 15 min. Applied the resistance to the rear wheel for the first time. In granny gear. Averaged 18 watts. Personal best for this post-surgery era and I think I can beat it ;)

Session 3. Flexion keeps increasing. Is there gonna be anything left to pursue soon??! :) yep, gonna be skiing before this spring season is over ;). (But seriously, I’m not rushing anything, these little improvements just happen to be progressing well. Hopefully the scarring works out too. Fingers crossed, we will see.)

Had a bad lock up of the knee while resting later that evening. Leg was straight with cooling cuff on. Felt the urge to bend it. It felt blocked by something significant in the medial side of the knee toward the front. Felt like pushing through it could be big and bad.

C • 18 Watts! 3