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| January 26, 2010 | | Modified my training - here is what I have been up to | | I have said it before but I cannot express just how lucky I am to have the resources at ENDURANCE REHAB available to me. Nate Koch and his team are without equal in the business.
In my last blog, I explained how we (by we I mean the whole ENDURANCE REHAB GANG) are going to treat my knee injury - CONSERVATIVELY!!!!! What exactly does that mean - here is the plan to overcome a serious knee injury without ruining my entire athletic future.
1. Weights - we are going to absolutely crush the weight to increas my quad and glute strength. Hopefully by doing so we will take some of the load off the joint. Here is a list of the exercises we are doing three times a week:
A. Leg Press - 4X20 Double Leg and 4X20 Single Leg
B. Leg Extension - 4X20 Double Leg and 4X20 Single Leg
C. Hamstring Curl - 4X20 Double Leg and 4X20 Single Leg
D. Calf Raises - 4X50
E. Lunges - 4X20
F. Monster Walk with Band
Endurance Rehab is one of the few shops in town that has its own Alter - G Machine.
The machine allows you to actually change your body weight. In an instant you can weigh 20%-100% of your actual weight. I am running at 50% of my body weight so 90 pounds. When you jog each impact of your leg is equal to 4X your body weight. When you run each impact is equal to up to 7 X your body weight. Some quick math: Jogging for me = 180X 4 or 720 pounds of force. With the alter G I am at 360 pounds. Now when I run on the Alter G I am at 90X7 or 630 Pounds but without the Alter G I am at 180X7 or 1260 pounds of force with each step. So by being able to reduce the force we are able to RUN when normally I would still be at home watching reruns of LOVE BOAT.
Here is more of the skinny on the machine.
In so doing you can do the following:
- Unique unweighting technology provides the opportunity to rehabilitate lower extremities like never before
- Precise partial weight-bearing enables accurate implementation of unweighting protocols
- Provides highly effective neuromuscular and proprioceptive retraining
- Technology developed at NASA and further developed by AlterG for medical rehabilitation, fitness and sports performance training
- The Anti-Gravity Treadmill® is FDA-cleared for the following indications:
- Rehabilitation following injury or surgery of the lower extremity (hip, knee, ankle or foot)
- Rehabilitation after total joint replacement
- Gait training in neurologic patients
- Strengthening and conditioning in older patients
- Weight control and reduction
- Sport specific conditioning programs
- Aerobic conditioning
By the way, lots of people use the machine for speed work. It goes without saying that by deweighting you can run faster and thus teach your muscles to do things that they normally would be unable to do. If you have an interest in trying this just contact Endurance Rehab and let them know you would like to use the machine.
Here is a shot of the Alter G. It is way cool.
Finally, I am going to really focus on my cycling in an effort to get stronger. One of the tools that I invested in is a computrainer. In addition, I puchased their real course videos. The name is perfect as one really feels lile they are on the course. Below is a shot from the Ironman Couer d'Alene course.
Some things that I like about it:
A) I find it unlikely that I will ever get run over by a car in my garage. However, my wife may feel like doing so when she pulls in and finds me in a pool of sweat and the house is a mess.
B) As my kids are getting older I value my time with them more and more. And I am frustrated with 3 hour rides taking 4 hours due to stops, mechanicals, lights, etc. With this application a 3 hour ride is just that. You don't stop once and you have all your nutrition at arms length. Just great training.
C) As I am becoming more and more of a techno geek I like to see numbers. This Computrainer application lets me watch my watts in Average and Real Time and I can just focus on holding a number rather than worrying about other riders or the road. It is just a great training tool.
The Videos are sick. Above is a shot of the ESCAPE from Alcatraz course. By the way, this hill truly sucks.
Here is a great shot from the Queen K just past Waikoloa. I rode to Hawi twice this week. The second time I just buried myself. I hit it so hard that I Iactually found myself horizontal on my bed watching the hallowed fan. I have not had that kind of awesome experience in a while. I loved it.
That is all I got from now. I am back to loving my training and life. All is good.
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