Week 21 and running has taken a backseat since it's been determined that I've developed jumpers knee (see the Week 20 post), I have to do exercises that do not aggravate it.
Its hard keeping things fresh doing the same exercises over and over, week after week. So, I've started to incorporate the Bosu ball into my knee workouts to make things a bit more challenging. A lot of local gyms should have one as they've become quite popular over the last few years. Its a great tool to help improve your balance when doing exercises.
So, the Bosu ball is basically half of an exercise ball with a flat bottom. Its very good for performing your balancing exercises as well as squats and lunges. Balancing on one leg is not too difficult at week 21 but, it can be when you add throwing a tennis ball against the wall while doing it. You can also flip the Bosu on the ball side and stand on the flat surface. This will make it more difficult.
Squats are also more challenging. You can really have to use your leg and core muscles more when doing this stuff. Of course, you have to make sure you're keeping the correct form when using the Bosu.
To make squats even more difficult, flip the Bosu with the ball side down, stand on the flat part. Just watch that you keep proper form and dont squat too deep. Once you master this, you can add dumbells.
For lunges, you basically step forward onto the ball part and lunge down and make sure your knee does not go over you toes as you would a normal lunge.
To do backwards lunges, it would be the same idea. step backwards onto the ball or if you think you can handle it, flip the Bosu over and step back onto the flat part. Again if you master this exercise, just add dumbbells for add weight.
Okay, this seems like a promo blog post but Im really just trying to show different options of how you can do your re-hab workouts because they can become very boring. There is a wide variety of exercises you can do with the Bosu for you knee and for overall body workouts. It can be kind of pricey if you want to buy one for yourself. It does come with a DVD that goes over how to use it. Retail price for the Bosu can be between $75 and $130 bucks at your local exercise equipment stores. Sometimes eBay has deals for as low as $55.00. To find the Bosu on eBay, click here. Just watch out for the shipping costs. You can also find the Bosu Ball on Amazon and there are knock off brand names for a bit less as well. I've added a banner on the left of your screen if you want to check out prices there. Like i said, if you go to a gym, they should have one or two there but if you're into doing your re-hab exercises at home, this is a great tool to help with a lot of your knee exercises and also can be used in other exercise routines.
That's it for Week 21. Thanks for reading my ACL KNEE SURGERY RECOVERY blog.
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