Work Out Regime Begins! Knee Rehab and 5k Training
So I’m 14 weeks post injury, if you missed my excitement from this Summer I dislocated my patella (kneecap) during a Zumba class. I’m sitting here this morning, in a super quiet house and pondering about where I’ve come since my injury happened.
14 weeks out and I completed Physical therapy last week. So 13 weeks of physical therapy, took 12 weeks to get my complete range of motion back in my knee and this week I’ve started the transition into the gym to work on my rehab.
Knee injuries are no joke! While 99.9% of my pain is gone, I still can’t cross my legs completely, I’m very limited with what I can do at the gym, my endurance level went down the crapper during recovery and it takes me 25 minutes to walk a mile.
I know I should be happy about my progress and believe me that I am. I will just be glad when my recovery is 100% complete and my life can go back to normal.
So now that my physical therapy is complete, I have a workout regime for my legs that is pretty intense. I have to keep my muscles strong in my leg so this doesn’t happen again. Did you know that I have a 40% chance of a re dislocation? Lord knows I don’t want to go through that again. Good news is that my legs and butt are going to be super strong! That’s good news right?
Leg Workout Regime
So every day there are several exercises that I’m working on. Yes, every day!
- 30 Squats
- 40 Walking Lunges
- 20 Leg Lifts (with a resistance band) on each leg to the front and 20 to the back
- 5-10 Lateral Walks
- 1 Legged Squats – 15 on each side
This past week, I signed up with a personal trainer. Mainly she will be teaching me more strength training exercises and showing me ways to do them without compromising the safety of my knee.
Wednesday, I worked on arms and core. Mainly doing rows and bicep curls.. lots and lots of them in different variations. I’m sore.
Ice is my best friend and my kids are the biggest cheer leaders ever!
So good news is that my kids are learning a lot about becoming healthier, I’m getting an awesome work out at the gym and things are starting to get really exciting. I’ve been spending 4 days a week at the gym and planned to have my endurance up by the end of the month.
I’m signed up for my first 5k since the injury! We are doing the Monster Dash 5k here in Kansas City, my kids are so excited to dress up in Halloween costumes. Can’t wait to show you what we picked out!
So that’s it for now. I’ve been sharing a lot of my fitness stuff on Instagram and Tumblr, please follow me there and we can motivate each other!
Thank you Rosey! :)
Good luck to him Shell!
Hi Vanessa! Girl.. I’m still traumatized LOL I think my instructor is too. I’m about 15 weeks post injury now and almost back to normal, well getting closer at least. I too was in physical therapy 3 days a week, they weaned me down to 1 crutch by the 3rd week and no crutches by week 4. I didn’t have a MRI, but we didn’t have any concerns about torn ligaments. My knee felt very unstable, I kept at the exercises and did them religiously every single day and it helped a lot. Though, even 15 weeks out, I still walk with a limp and can’t walk super fast. I was advised to stay out the Zumba as risk is about 40% that it will happen again. I’m very bummed about that.. Zumba was my new hobby! I’m now 1 1/2 weeks out of physical therapy and at the gym 4 days a week, I do my leg exercises every single day and now working with a personal trainer to learn some strength training exercises that won’t injure my knee again. Thank you for your comment! Feel free to email me if you want to discuss it all :)
Hi Amanda, I was searching Google looking for someone who has had the same experience as me with dislocating my knee during zumba! I’m glad I found your blog, my injury was exactly the same, one of my favourite songs came on and I think I got too excited and when I turned my knee dislocated! I agree with you it is the WORST experience, I’m still traumatized. My injury was 9 weeks ago I’m finally able to walk a little, but I still use the crutches because my knee still feels unstable. I’m worried I may have injured some major ligamebts like my ACL, did you get an MRI at all? I’m also doing physio 3 times a week it’s been soo helpful. I love zumba and being active I’m worried I won’t be able to go to zumba anymore or any fast faced workouts. Is good to see that you have gotten much better ( I read al your posts about your injury)
I hope your recovery keeps going well!
Vanessa Carreiro
Vaness_carrriro@hotmail.com
What an impressive workout! My husband has had to have 2 surgeries on his knee. They recovery is rough!
I forgot to say good luck with the race! I hope all goes well and your injury remains a thing of the past.
That is an intense workout. My legs are weaker than my upper body. It’s harder to work them out, so I know I need to step it up.
i just had major hip surgery last week. my goal is to walk a half marathon next year. i don’t know if i will make it but i sure as hell am going to try.
So glad you’re doing so well after your injury! All of those strength-building exercises will really pay off for you in the long run!
My husband has had several knee injuries on both knees. Dislocated knee caps are a horrible thing to go through.
I think it’s great that through your journey your kids are learning about living healthy. Keep it up!
Congrats on the progress. Keep powering through that injury. You can do it!
Keep it up! Knew injuries are no joke. My sister had many issues with her knee and even had screws put into hers after countless surgeries are no joke!
It is great that you are getting out and getting moving! I’ll have to try that leg workout regime.
Keep up the great work! I love that you haven’t given up!
Keep up the great work. Good luck on your 5k.
Woohoo!!! Keep up the good work. It is so hard to get into the routine but after you do, you miss it when you have to skip.
It would be so easy to give up after an injury, so you are an inspiration to keep moving forward! Good luck with your routine and upcoming 5k!
It’s always great to have a workout regimen. Exercise is so important for total body wellness.
I hope you are healing quickly and well. Good luck with the race. I think I am going to start those exercises myself.
Good for you for not letting your injury stop you from perusing a healthier life. I look forward to following you on your journey.
I’m glad you’re healing after your injury. I think it would be neat to have a personal trainer.
I’m a big advocate of getting out there and staying active. You’re doing great working through the discomfort of your knee. Good job!
Good luck on the upcoming race, Amanda! Can’t wait to see the kid’s costumes!
That’s dedication right there! I hope your knee goes back to perfect health!
Thank you! You should totally do it, even if you walk the whole thing. They are so fun if you pick a good one, the medals are so addicting! ha!
Thank you!
Best of luck. I am working on building up the courage to sign up for my first 5k.
Glad you are on the road to a full recovery and you have a great plan in place. The monster dash sounds like a fun family activity.
Glad to hear your knee is healing. You are so devoted with your workouts. Gosh I need to get motivated and exercise.