Amp PT

I have been doing upper and lower body PT since leaving Roper Rehabilitation Hospital. As a runner I rarely found or made time to do much upper body strengthening. As it stands, or sits, I have made some strides in strength training and worked into a routine that I will continue once I start running again.

This is the lower body plan I use plus a few added things:

http://tinyurl.com/nxp8h9

I have worked up from no weight to 20 lbs in the form of two 10 lb Reebok ankle weights you see in these pics. Jennifer had some slightly lighter weights that I used initially.

The above is the "Hip Outward and Inward" exercise with the weights. In reality this is only about 10 - 12 lbs more than an intact leg. I do about 75 - 100 reps.

This is the "Hip and Knee Bending" exercise. Right now I do about 200 reps. The thigh still atrophies; if I could work out 3x a day I might arrest it.

This is the "Short Arc Quad" exercise. I stack the weights to get good resistance. I usually do 30 - 50 reps 2x or 3x.

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I'd show some upper body stuff here but there isn't enough room for my giant chest, uh, head as Jennifer happily concludes.

I hope to keep this up once I start running again, I believe a strong core will make me a better runner and less prone to injury. I will likely do strength training 3 - 4x a week which should be enough to maintain and improve my fitness. If I get very ambitious I might join a nearby 24/7 club to have access to more sophisticated equipment.

I won't be rupturing my right achilles tendon ever, but having a strong left leg will be more important than ever. Can it be I will be walking without pain in a few weeks? Except for the phantom pain, which I have come to a compromise; it will keep pestering me and I will keep it in a headlock. Since PP has dumb tenacity and I have the Scottish ancestry, there is only one outcome to be had.

I go to see my CP tomorrow. If my incision has healed we can start the fitting process. Here's hope for real change I can believe in! = ;-)