The Gym and the day after

After my last phsyio session a week ago or so I was recommended to start gym exercises such as bike, rowing, air walker and any cardio exercises. I scanned some online prices and asked some friends about the gyms they go to and I went to a free session with my sister, but forgot the print out. The girl suggested we don't do the month membership since they had a special Christmas offer for 12 sessions! So we took that instead and had our assessment the next day.

The trainer asked us why we are doing the gym, and what we were hoping to achieve, we established that gaining muscle in the left leg is what I was mainly looking for and my sister was seeking some exercise to do. He then gave us a plan to follow which goes a little something like this;

• 15 mins Bike warm up
• Stretching holding each stretch for 10 sec's
• 20 mins Rowing
• 20 mins cross-trainer
• Abs Exercises - 20 crunches, 20 elbow to knee, 20 superman stretches and 20 leg lifts
• 15 mins Treadmill
• Stretching holding each one for 15-20 sec's

We managed to do everything but left out the treadmill the first time as it was getting late and we had errands to run. All in all with a cold and all we did pretty well and stuck it out! My leg started hurting a bit during the last 5 minutes of the cross trainer but the rest were ok.

The next day....my calf starts pulling a bit...I think it's been so inactive that the difference was felt immediately. I guess that's a good sign though and that the more I do the less I'll feel it. Let's hope at least that this is the case. Will go again tomorrow and perhaps add some pool to the whole regimen too since that is included in the price. Perhaps I'll be able to start training from mid- January at least! Merry Christmas to everyone, it's been a very eventful year with Rugby, the fracture and all the great people I've met wishing you all the best today and always x x x

Walk the walk

It's now been 3 weeks since I removed the cast, and 2 weeks since I started physio. Last Tuesday I had a session with the Sports physio and she told me that I shouldn't be walking funny anymore. We worked on walking normally and she has given me exercises to strengthen the muscles and told me to get to the gym asap and start doing cardio exercises.

My to do list exercises until next week are:

• Walking - rocking forward and back



Calf stretch

• Double calf raises - with more weight on the weak leg
• Balancing on weak leg and other one lifted - with open and then with closed eyes (turning head and having someone throw me a ball)
• Calf stretch against wall, and then with both knees bent - see stick men
• Pushing weak foot against wall or using theraband
• Bridging
• Stepping down little step
• Squatting against a wall

For the last two days I have been doing these exercises and my walking has improved significantly if I should say so myself.

Taped leg

Physio meeting #2. Today was my second consultation so to speak and there seems to be marked improvement in my flexibility. Which I was pleased about, although I didn't exercise as much as I should have. He told me there was still some swelling so he sort of massaged that out for about ten to fifteen minutes. Now tomorrow I've got an appointment with a sports science expert who will have a look and tell me what to do next...

The physio told me that he doesn't think I need anymore sessions! We'll see tomorrow what muscle strengthening exercises I'm told to do... so far I should only be doing the the recommended exercises for my leg and any upper body exercises, so I'll try to complete those at least. Will probably go to the gym and exercise there a bit this week. Looking forward to tomorrow mid-day exercise session too. :) Getting there slowly.

Hydrotherapy

My physio sessions include hydrotherapy. This is me being immersed into hot water that reaches to the chest, to do some exercises and improve flexibility as well as build muscle strength. This was quite interesting and it started with simply walking up and down the length of the pool twice. Other exercises included;

• going on tip toes then going down slowly
• moving from toes to heels and swinging
• balancing on one leg
• using the wobble boards to move up and down
• using the wobble board to balance on one leg and move arms up and down
• walk across the pool
• walk on tip toes across the pool
• on heels
• on inner foot area
• on outer foot area
• stretching it by pushing against a wall

These same exercises were to be done at home in a bit of a slower motion. As well as crunching a tissue paper with my toes.

On the second session which was yesterday there were some more exercises such as:

• hopping on the bad leg across the pool
• stepping up and lifting my body on the first step of the pool

I was also told that I can cycle, row, and do exercises at the gym...so it's searching for a gym with these facilities that is close and get a months membership.