Today was my first day in the gym with Belinda since the all-clear from Dr Matt Lyons to begin skiing again. I plan to leave for the United States, mid-February 2016, so I have approximately eight weeks to finish off the strength and coordination work. Belinda – She who must be obeyed – was keen to hear the surgeon’s decision. She wasn’t surprised that I have been given the green light but was not convinced of the wisdom of Dr Lyons’ advice that I could increase the resistance levels on the leg press and bicycle machines.

“What for?” She enquired. “I’m not sure what that would achieve. We are in advanced rehabilitation now.  I’m concentrating on exercises specifically aimed at the mechanics of skiing. I think that’s more important than strength work.”

“Yes, but if there’s no chance of injury I think the stronger I can get the better, especially in my quads, ” I replied. She has been excellent so far so I have to listen to her opinion. We agreed that pain, or absence of pain, could guide me on further strength work and she would concentrate on the skiing exercises.

The session went something like this:

Warm up on the bike: ………..5 mins on resistance 9, 10, 11,  12 and  13 – about 27 minutes. Sprinted to 100rpm, five times on levels 10, 11, 12 and 13.

Two legged squats on the vibrating plate x 35

One leg squats against the wall
using large gym ball on my back……………….. 8x x 3 sets

Two legged jumps onto a bench…………………10x x 3 sets

Two leg cycle squats……………………………….10x x 3 sets

Cable hip abduction (both legs) …………………1.5 kg x 10
………………………………………………………… 3.0 kg x 15

Freeform plate back arches………………………. 10x

Stretching for 10 minutes

Quite a bit of this was new. The two legged jump ups, were onto a gym bench about 30 cm high. This was hard at first but at the end I could jump up, land squarely on both feet and jump backwards down onto the floor. The cycle squats were on a small stand where the heels are jacked up and the aim is to squat and sit on the back of your heels, hold a moment, then stand up again. This almost mimics the position in skiing of extending and squatting consecutively when going over moguls or initiating turns.

Today doesn’t sound like a hard session, but it was. I think anything new such as the jumps onto the bench, cycle squats or the hip adduction, is difficult when first attempted.

I have just clicked over 10 months since surgery