PT: Day 20

Wednesday's PT overhaul:

6 min Elliptical - Level 4
Reevaluation
Hip Warm-up Stretch
Reverse Curl with Stick - 20 reps
Cage stretch
Assisted Squats - 5 reps (40 pounds of assistance)
Modified Side Planks - 3 reps each side for 30 sec
Modified Planks - 2 reps for 30 sec
Side Lunges on Bosu - 10 each side

First thing...  I haven't been blogging all my PT visits.  I know.  Hopefully I'm nearing the end of PT, but in the meantime my progress feels frustrating and slow.  20 visits to PT and everyone knows my name.  They know my kids' names.  I know where they live.  And when they're having a bad day.  Not just my therapist, but a couple of the others as well.  I'm nearing the end of my 4th month of PT.  A lot has changed for me physically and emotionally.  And I'm worried about PT becoming a crutch.  I can't stay there forever.  Eventually I have to work through this and move on.  It's a lot of baggage.

Now for the actual workout... The Assisted Squat was something I'd been introduced to in the past, but wasn't deemed ready for.  My tendency when doing squats it to compensate by leaning forward too much.  It simply isn't the right way to do a squat.  My weak gluts are causing the bad form so this exercise adds weight to help them out.  The weight is attached to two pulleys which I hold onto with my arms.  Then I lower into the squat.  I'm unsteady enough that the therapist stands behind me to make sure I don't fall backwards.

Wednesday I was reevaluated.  I'm doing well, but my coccyx is still sore most days and my knees have begun to feel tender again.  There is a balance somewhere in all this I have not attained yet.  For the coccyx I continue working and we hope.  For the knees, I'm to reduce the treadmill incline to 0 for the next few weeks.  First to see if it helps, second to give my gluts a break.  Adding the incline makes them work harder and the suspicion is that they are just giving up.