Re: workout with knee injury?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Huntinggamo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">so as a member of the military and a long range shooter i am at a loss for a good workout...
I was recently in a motorcycle accident that left me with a fully torn acl, sprained mcl and to compaction fractures to my knee. im supposed to have surgery in jan/feb time frame.
My question is what kind of work out can i still do that will help with long range shooting and when i heal up with my 3 gun and general endurance...ect, or more specifically if you could not use your knee for several months (running for example is out of the question) what exerciser plan would you recommend? </div></div>
I have had a life long battle with genetically inherited knee traumas exacerbated by my inability to accept limitations. This has resulted in a number of surgeries, and a number of serious and extremely painful knee injuries.
The first time around I went to two different doctors and a PT group and they all had me doing these muscle isolation exercises leg extensions leg press etc. You want to go really easy on it until the tendons heal. Fishoil and Glucosamine aren't a bad idea.
This may be good for the initial tendon recovery, but I personally believe that the best longterm care for my knees has been embracing the squat. It's critical that you learn it correctly, but it's your knees best friend as far as I'm concerned.
Here for instance:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/squats-how-safe-is-it-to-perform-a-squat-exercise-319
Don't be surprised to find professionals telling you it's bad despite the contrary evidence with documentation.
Definitely read the entire article and follow up on the sources for yourself don't take my word for it.
TL;DR
1. Initially, squat only to the point at which the tops of your thighs are parallel with the floor. Over time, as your strength and coordination improve and you remain injury-free, you can increase the depth of your squats. As squatting depth increases, quadriceps-muscle activation also increases, and thus expanding the depth of squatting should be associated with augmented gains in quad strength. To be fair, though, we should mention that few sports (except for weightlifting) actually require you to perform from a deep-squat position. Since gains in strength are partially a neural phenomenon, utilization of very deep squats may have a smaller than expected effect on your leg strength during your sporting activity (i.e., your nervous system may improve its ability to organize muscular force production during deep squatting, but this organizing will never come into play during competition, where deep squats are rare).
2. Don't squat when you are fatigued, and try to avoid training to failure when you are squatting. If you are exhausted, you may lose control of the squat, and - if you are utilizing a loaded barbell - you may end up twisting a knee, increasing your risk of knee-cartilage damage.
3. For two-legged squats, use a shoulder-width foot stance.
4. Always descend and ascend in a controlled and coordinated manner; don't jerk or rock back and forth. Avoid twisting movements in the bottom position.
5. Back pain and knee pain are indicators that you are progressing too fast with your squat training. If either type of pain occurs, you should rest until the pain disappears and then decrease your resistance and the number of squat repetitions you are completing.
