I am currently in my second week of physical therapy. I go twice a week and have 6 total weeks.

What I have been doing:

Modified ab workouts. Since my back is having problems, I cannot do my normal ab routine and have only been allowed to do about 3 ab exercises. My therapy right now includes:

Heat pad on my back for 10 minutes

3 x 15 seconds of planks

2 x 10 reps of bridge with my feet propped up on a balance ball (I just do 20 straight through)

10 reps on each side of alternating right arm out with left leg out and vice versa

Then a quad stretch that requires me to use a step stool because my joints in my hip/groin area are too tender to pull my legs up to my chest and roll onto my back to stretch. In fact I can’t stretch my legs pulling them up to me unless I’m doing standing quad stretch and pulling my leg behind me.

I do foam rolling and two stretches on my own for my IT bands

The physical therapist comes in and stretches my IT band, observes that to see how my flexibility is improving. Monday she said I was getting better flexibility wise but I was unaligned again, which a week ago I was fine.

She did some pressure stuff on my lower back and stretched/made me push against her with my inner legs to help align me back and check my strength.

Then she gives me a back massage/rub out because my tight back muscles pull up on my hips but also she helps alleviate my back pain I have.

Then I have 15 minutes of stem and ice. However, this Monday I only had ice and no stem.

That is a day at physical therapy.

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Now onto my planned working out that has started this week!!

Coach made a plan and this is how it looks

• M: 30ish minute run
• T: Cross train ~30 min
• W: 40ish minute run
• R: Cross train ~30 min
• F: 30ish minute run
• S: Cross train ~30 min
• S: 45ish minute run

Also I’m going to ask if I’m supposed to take a complete day off. This is just a rough plan because it was all verbal so I may have gotten some things wrong. I will ask at practice for a better idea.

But basically we are just working on maintaining fitness and getting me stronger/more flexible with therapy and keeping my aerobic system up. He also said we will work on my explosiveness so I’ll find out more about that as well.

I am excited to be running again but definitely going to take it easy and I have no reason to rush anything because I’m just training for cross country next year, so I’m going to work hard and let my body tell me what is good.