Saturday, March 9, 2019

Gym and travel

Leaving tonight for Denver and my first post op with Dr. LaPrade.   Things seem ok.  I can walk up and down stairs with the brace on and last night, I did 15 min on a stationary bike with some resistance... not 'butt off the seat' type resistance, but enough to make myself sweat and push my out-of-shape heart to 140 bpm.  Just in time because I was developing a serious weight problem.  It started 2 weeks ago during my last week on crutches, I ran out of food at home and was eating fast food for a few days and resorted to eating carbs like pasta.  My weight got up to 155 lbs at one point, but after 3 days of very clean eating and less volume, back 'down' to 150.  I actually look fairly fit at 150.   I'm a week ahead of schedule doing biking with resistance, but it seems ok and I do it with the brace on.  I've now got full range of flexion back, which is also a milestone of sorts.

Also, I've been able to do glute machine and hip flexor with the affected leg no problem, it doesn't engage the knee, but I can't do it yet with the unaffected (R) leg because it requires standing on my affected leg (L) with full weight + .  I can also do adductors and abductors. 

The ability to do cardio on the bike is big.  When in shape, it would take a few 300s to push my heart rate to 140, but as out of shape as I am, the just moderate work on the bike does that.  Up until last night, my workouts were so mild I wasn't even sweating - as prescribed, no resistance biking.  In addition just one set of upper body including rows, pecks, shoulder press and then the glute hip stuff, and calve raises.  Every other day, a tabata ab routine.  Within a month I'll be able to swim, do aqua running, and elliptical.   It's going to be a long road back.  I dreamed last night I ran a 200m in a college meet.  I hope that someday happens again.

Complicating the trip to Denver tomorrow is that the 'spring forward' time change is tonight, which means I have to leave my house at 2:30 am (which will feel like 1:30 am), and there is severe weather in TN today, tornado watches and wind advisories.  I was hoping for a fun day tomorrow with Roya touring in the mountains, I just hope we're not too dead from the trip.

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