Tag Archives: ACL

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A Week of Rest and Cleared to get Back at it!

I had my physical therapy evaluation on Friday and I was cleared to do CrossFit, on a scaled basis. Still no running, box jumps, for which my shins are thankful, no heavy snatches, etc. To say I am happy is an understatement. I need to take it easy and not try and blow the doors off. It took me four days to recover from Angie. That was kind of dumb. My Patella tendon was very angry with me. I really don’t know why. 100 squats isn’t that many.

Saturday CrossFit Evaluation:

Following is the rep scheme I used to get sense of where I was with my lifts, and of course, how much they would hurt. I can tell that I am close to back where I started. Squats aren’t deep enough and I am still reverse curling the cleans. It will get better, and hopefully quickly.

3, 3, 5, 5, 7

Squats and Dead Lifts: 135lbs
Front Squats, Push Jerks, Hang Cleans: 95lbs
KB Swings: 50lbs

Surprisingly everything felt good, just very tight. Need to get on the roller and the field hockey ball.

Sunday Funday WOD:

Five Rounds:

5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 squats
500 meter row

I did it a regular gym and the rowers were in a different part of the gym so people were looking at me like I had three heads. Actually, that happens often and not just in the gym.

Sunday Cooking:

With the exception of bagels on Friday and cocktails on Saturday, we have stuck to 100% Paleo 85% of the time. It definitely makes it easier to prepare the week’s breakfasts and lunches ahead of time, otherwise I’ll fall right off the wagon, and they won’t let me back on. Repeat offender.

Breakfast:

15 eggs
2lbs spicy turkey sausage
Big box of baby spinach
Cherry tomatoes
Coconut oil

I usually have a either oven roasted squash or sweet potatoes with the egg and sausage medley. It tastes great and it keeps well in the fridge in a big tupperware container.

Lunch:
Roast
Coated in Montreal steak seasoning
Garlic cloves
Carrots
Celery

Usually have another vegetable like green beans or peas. It’s so easy to put it in the Crock Pot and forget about, Eight hours later you have lunch for the week.

Need to get some snack ideas. I get hungry at 10:00am and 3:00pm without fail. Probably pick up a couple packets of tuna, almonds, and some apples. Good times.

Have fun out there.

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Seven Weeks After ACL Surgery

I’m done. I’ve had it. I am ready to get back to normal and get back to CrossFitting. Being a globo gym goer sucks. Alright, in all seriousness I am happy and fortunate that my knee is coming along really well and I am able to do quite a bit of stuff. Box jumps, running, snatches, etc. are still a ways away, however it could be a lot worse!

What was it like?

The first week consisted of:

  • sit in chair
  • elevate leg
  • ice knee
  • flex quad
  • lay on bed
  • eleveate leg
  • ice knee
  • flex quad

Luckily the pain wasn’t bad. The day after the surgery was the worst, as is expected because the anaesthesia wore off, as did the fun pain meds the nurse gave me afterwards. I don’t know what they were, but they were GOOD! I was off the percocet after three days and off the crutches after seven days.

Rehab:

I started rehab five days after the surgery, three days a week for six weeks. Then twice a week for four weeks, then once a week for four more weeks, and then as needed. My recommendation is to find a smaller place where you work with only one physical therapist. I think that would be a better experience. The rehab is challenging. Many of the exercises look easy. Only when you try one do you realize you have zippy for strength in your leg and it’s unstable as all hell. Good times. Do your exercises no matter what. The more often you do them, the sooner you regain strength and the sooner you are back to normal.

Gym Time:

After three weeks i was cleared to go back to the gym and do upper body stuff. Nothing that involved my knee. So I did some bench presses, shoulder work, curls, etc. but decided they really wouldn’t help me get back to CrossFit so I focused on bodyweight exercises like push ups, sit ups, dips, and pull ups. I was also cleared to swim which was a bonus. After the fourth week I was ok’d to do dead lifts and squats, but nothing over 150 lbs. I was also cleared to do leg presses and calve raises.

What’s Left?

My next appointment is the first week in March and at that point I should be allowed to start jogging which I am looking forward too, surprisingly. I know it sounds weird considering how often I vocalize my previous opposition to running. I am really looking forward to running again. Weird.

I also have to continue to work on strengthening the muscles around the knee to increase stability. Lots of band work, muscle flexing, standing on one leg….fun, fun, fun.

I plan on going back to CrossFit the middle of February which will be three months post op. I will not be able to do box jumps or high impact lifts like snatches but I will be able to do the majority of the movements, just not heavy. I am really ready to be back at it. I miss the people and the competition. It will also coincide withy he start of Whole Life Challenge, round two.

My advice is to get it done as soon as it happens. I waited twelve years and that was probably a bad idea. I caused damage to other parts of my knee because of it.