First treadmill jog!
September 16th, 2015
16SEP15 - R+14 1/2 weeks, non-op, early weight bearing protocol
My Doc suggested working on the treadmill and setting a goal of running two miles at an easy pace around the 16 week mark. Today, I jogged for the first time since injury, stopping after 1/2 mile and feeling pretty good. I am still not pushing off normally on the injured leg yet, but just the fact that I could jog at all felt like remarkable progress.
Today was my third trip to the gym in the past couple weeks. While I was at there, I did a few sets of squats, leg presses, toe extensions, etc.. The strength is returning to the injured leg. Life is good.
For those earlier in their journey: be patient, push yourself but don’t hurt yourself. You will be back in the game before you know it.
Oh, yeah… and it appears that every day at the gym is now a leg day. 
Leave a Reply
See also:
- R+33 Weeks - nearly normal again (January 24th, 2016)
- R+20 weeks: video progress update (October 30th, 2015)
- R+20 weeks, starting to run again (October 25th, 2015)
- Flirting with normalcy @ 19 weeks (October 17th, 2015)
- Wear and tear (October 5th, 2015)
September 16th, 2015 at 4:51 pm
Wow congrats! I am curious, since I am back in the gym now too, what you define as “jog”. I am doing treadmill work but it is what I would characterize as “walking” at 5 KPH. My protocol calls for no true running or jogging, i.e. having only one foot on the ground as opposed to two, for a couple of more months. How fast are you going?
I like your comment “every day is a leg day” - isn’t that the truth!
September 17th, 2015 at 1:50 am
Thanks, Bob. My protocol may be ambitious, but in weeks 13-16 it calls for:
Single Leg Heel Raises (not even close to doing this yet)
Treadmill-running progression program
Stairmaster
Goals:
No calf atrophy (I have a calf muscle, but it still has a LONG way to go)
Run 2 miles at easy pace
In months 5 and 6, it calls for
Running progression program-progress to track and hard surfaces
Agility drills/plyometrics
Goals:
Return to all activities
Pass physical fitness test at 6 months
On the treadmill yesterday, I did two sessions. Round one was 10 minutes, and started walking, then increased the pace gradually up to 11:00 minutes/mile. After doing strength work, I stepped back onto the treadmill and walked for 1/4 mile, then increased the in a couple increments up to 10:00 minutes/mile. I confess that it was a bit of a glide because of my weakened calf, but I tried to be as symmetrical as possible. I was really pleased that things actually felt comfortable and pain-free, but did not want to push it by going too far on my first attempt. I stepped off after 1/2 mile at the 10 minute/mile pace. I did have a little in-ankle swelling in the evening, but the AT felt strong and is pain free this morning.
The gym rats must be amused by the level of effort I have to put into my leg presses of such little weight, but I am just glad to be back in the gym! I am not in a race or trying to push it too hard… just keeping with the program my Doc and PT are monitoring. Keep up the great work, Bob! Good luck!
September 17th, 2015 at 7:27 am
Thanks Evan - best of luck to you, inspiring progress. I know exactly what you mean about others looking at you doing the leg press with such light weight
September 18th, 2015 at 5:23 am
Jogging already, Evan? That’s great! I’ve had much more time, and still haven’t gotten permission to run. I’ve worked up to sets of 425# leg presses today, though. Just rehabbing differently, I suppose.
September 18th, 2015 at 8:57 am
425 pounds? Dude, you are a beast! It had been awhile since my last leg press when the injury occurred, so it will be awhile until I get even in the neighborhood of that load. I did a few at 225 lb, though, which made me feel a little less pathetic than previous sets.
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.