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Monday, January 5, 2015

Exercise biking

The morning after surgery, I was up early to go to the gym for some time in the exercise bike. Moving the operative joint is important, and since I am not using a continuous passive motion machine this time around, I have to spend some time on the bike.


I was worried about getting there on crutches, the feasibility of actually climbing on the bike without help, where to stash my crutches while I biked, and if the gym would mind (I can understand them thinking I was a liability). But there is a reclining bike right by a pillar, and I was able to maneuver to it easily, climb on with no trouble, and prop my crutches against the pillar within arms' reach. 
My phone slides perfectly into the strap. Holy smokes, that thigh is swollen! '

This type of bike didn't have a ledge or rack, but luckily my brace has several Velcro straps that did nicely for holding my phone in place. I'm listening to podcasts...currently The British History podcast, which I'm enjoying. 

The goal is to do an hour of biking a day, no resistance (or light resistance if I feel my joint bouncing), but I just did 45 minutes the first day. No need to rush things - and we had lunch reservations! I will try to keep it up for at least while I'm on crutches.
So far, I've been pretty good - going 5 to 6 days a week (too hard to pull off on Sundays or holidays). I've been fitting in 45 minutes a day, all I can really handle. Two more weeks and I can start actually getting some exercise, not just spinning the pedals around!

8 comments:

  1. And…you're off! Any exercise is better than none for the mental side of things, right? Have you tried Serial yet? Everyone is raving about it (I actually remember the murder here) and it might make your time on the bike more fun!

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  2. There's nothing that holds you back is there?! Your dedication to recovery is so impressive.

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  3. Biking can be boring but it's better than nothing when it's your only safe options! You should check out podcasts when biking - I bet they will help make the time go faster!

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  4. I know I kid you a lot, but I really am impressed that you're active during your recovery. I think most people would just lye (lay, again not sure) around, but you're really attacking it. That's cool.

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  5. It must feel good to be doing something! I love podcasts and listen to them a lot while running. I really enjoy Freakonomics and This American Life and there are a ton of good running ones as well...

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  6. good luck on rehab, I hate doing things like that.

    While I was impressed with Wozniacki's marathon time, I was more impressed with the fact that apparently she ran a 3:26 after only running a max long run of 13 miles. Maybe all the tennis she played substituted as leg training to allow her to run 26 miles? Seems like an easy way to get injured, but apparently her body held up just fine.

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  7. more Caro marathon info:

    http://www.runnersworld.com/new-york-city-marathon/caroline-wozniacki-balances-tennis-career-marathon-training

    playing tennis on concrete (US Open summer series) was probably awesome marathon training, so her legs really didn't feel any different as she was running the marathon.

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  8. Awesome! I get bored about 20 mins on the bike...I need tips!

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