16 months post op

I'm long overdue to provide an update! So since my last update I finished my first full cricket season since coming back from injury - 12 games in total :) The knee has felt great throughout the season to the point of enabling me to charge at the ball when in the field and even slide on the ground as I used to when chasing :) There are a couple of small tournaments coming up and I plan to continue during the off season.

I've also been training at my old club Heatherton Utd for the last 3 weeks which has been great. I've definitely started to pick up my fitness and I'm participating in all drills. Sprinting has been tough, mainly as it's never been my strong point due to being 6ft 5, but I am improving! I've played in a couple of half pitch practice matches also and the knee is feeling very stable thank god. The only really hesitation I have is turning sharply as well as tackling but I guess that's to be expected. I'm planning to continue to train and see how it goes from there.

I'm still training in the gym 4-5 times a week including 2 leg workouts a week usually doing squats + calves in one session and leg press, hamstring curls + glutes in another session. I've also recently started doing the 1000 steps with my wife in the Dandenongs which is a great workout!

14 months post op!

An update is long overdue as quite a bit has happened in the last couple of months which I will try to summarise! Most importantly my health is good and the knee is going great thank god! I have managed to play every game this season for my cricket club playing a total of 7 games up to now. My confidence is increasing with every game played and I am now even diving around in the field which I never thought I would get back to! In general the knee has been pulling up well after games but I have been icing after every game as a precaution.

I'm still going to the gym 4 times a week and continuing with my upper body plan as well as working on my legs twice a week. I've started doing squats recently and it's making a big difference to my legs as I am putting on additional muscle even if I'm not doing it too heavy (usually work up to 70 kgs total). The biggest news is that I played in a 6 a side match of soccer last Wednesday night at training!! I was very cautious though and was not tackling. I was generally hanging back around the goals and just enjoyed being on the pitch to be honest :) I still have no intention of making a comeback with soccer as I am happy enough attending training sessions to keep the fitness up as well as playing cricket in the summer. All in all it's been a good couple of months!

One year post op!!

I can't quite believe it, but it's been one year since my second op (for those who don't know I had my original knee recon on the 1st of October and 2nd op on the 11th of October 2010 to clean out the staph infection I had). This time last year I was celebrating my birthday in hospital awaiting my second op so I'm quite relieved not to be in the same position this year! I've come quite a long way since and on Sunday played my 2nd cricket match although it was a friendly.

The week before that I played in my first match and it was quite nerve racking to be honest. Although I did have 5 training sessions prior to it, playing in an actual match is always more intense. It was a 20/20 game and we fielded first. After warming up I started fielding at my customary mid off/on position. Thankfully I didn't have to dive around to much during the 20 overs although I was definitely cautious with my knee which will probably take time to overcome. At one stage I had an opportunity to slide and keep the batsmen to one run, however I decided to run after it instead which allowed them 2 runs. I figure I'd rather look after my knee than worry about giving away an extra run!

Unfortunately with the bat I didn't stay in long enough to test my knee as I was out clean bowled for one on my 3rd delivery which was a great ball by the way :) Overall it went well and it was good to play my first cricket game in over a year which gave me some confidence! I then played my 2nd game on Sunday which was a 'friendly' match due to the official game being cancelled due to weather conditions (which was a bizzare decision as it wasn't a bad day!). It ended up being a 30 over game which was a really good test for my knee.  I ended up having a great day, making a good solid 19 (batting for approx 7-8 overs) and taking 2 really good outfield catches which tested my knee! I also captained our team to a 2 run win :) The recovery was quite good even if the knee was a little sore in the evening. Overall I am really happy with where I am at and looking forward to the official season commencement this Sunday hopefully!

Solid progress 11 months post op

I've made solid progress in the last month since returning from my overseas holiday. I resuming training at the gym and have managed to put 3 kgs (mainly muscle I hope) during that period. My operated leg feels a lot better now that I've resumed doing stationary bike riding, leg presses, leg curls, calf raises and glute work. I can see now why people say that once you've had a knee reconstruction rehab is on going!

Not that I mind though as I've always been into the gym anyway. One area where I have slackened off is running though. Apart from the fitness sessions I've conducted at my cricket club I haven't done as much running as I would have hoped for. I am to step this up in the next couple of weeks. I am really happy to be in a position where I'll be able to play cricket this season. I attended my 3rd pre-season training session last Sunday and once again it went really well (I had another session 2 weeks prior to this one). This Sunday we have another training session and the following week will be my first game for one and a half years as I will be taking part in a 20-20 match. Hopefully all goes well.

Back from holiday & 10 months post op

It is has been a while since my last update as I only just got back recently from a 6 week holiday in Europe. The holiday was absolutely fantastic although it has impacted my rehab program! As my wife and I were only staying a few days in each city in made it nearly impossible to visit a gym so as a result I have not done any weights for the last 6 weeks. As a result I've lost a fair bit of muscle from both my upper body and legs. I actually dropped 5 kgs (mostly muscle) and now weigh 92 kgs. I haven't measured my legs as yet but I'm sure I have lost a lot of size from my quad and hamstring from both legs.

The only good thing was that we did a lot of walking whilst in Europe (on same days 10-12 kms) so at least I have been active in this sense. I also did go for a bike ride or two but clearly not enough to prevent muscle loss. I am not too concerned though as I'm planning to start back in the gym this week and re-commence with my running program. Hopefully in a few weeks time I'll be back to where I was. I am also planning to attend my 2nd pre-season cricket fitness session this Saturday so it will be interesting to see how it compares with the first session 6 weeks ago!

Nearly 9 months post op (1 week away)

It is now nearly 9 months post my original op (had a 2nd op 10 days after the original for those who haven't followed my blog up to now) and overall I'm very happy with how I'm going. For the first time (last Thursday) I was very tempted to take part in a kick around at training but I came to my senses and decided not to! Not until I get clearance from my surgeon that is. It doesn't make much sense to be risking anything at this stage as I am going overseas for a holiday next week! Apart from that I'm continuing with my usual routine of gym 4-5 times a week along with running, riding the excercise bike and doing the cross trainer from time to time.

I had another breakthrough approximately 1 week ago when I ran a fitness assessment for a few of the players for the cricket club I play for. I was pleasantly surprised that I did quite well in the activities I participated in. I took part in a 1km run and did it in 4 minutes and 28 seconds. Next I did a beep test and managed Level 8/2. Although not at my best I was still happy with the results. I plan to run a few more fitness sessions before the season starts so hopefully my results improve! I won't be updating this log for a while as I will be overseas so until then take care and hope everyone is progressing well with rehab!

First round of golf post op!

Quite a bit has happened in the last few weeks but I haven't had a chance to update my blog due to being extremely busy at work! As you can see from the photo below I played my first round of golf post my op. I played at the Waterford Valley golf course in Knoxfield on the 5th June with a couple of my close friends. The course itself is 6.5km in total so it involved a lot of walking which was great! That along with teeing off and testing my right knee during my iron shots etc gave my knee a really good workout. After the game I felt fine in general although my knee did feel the effects but nothing a little icing didn't fix! I iced my knee for 15 minutes or so and the next day I felt fine. It was a great feeling to finally do something sports related and to pull up well.

Unfortunately last weekend I got sick (again) but I was able to recover fairly quickly. It has meant that I haven't been to the gym this week at all, however I am planning to go tonight after work. Interestingly as a result of not doing much over the last 5 days my right calf in particular stiffened up a bit. I did see my physio yesterday who also noticed that my flex wasn't as good as it has been and he worked on the back of my knee. After massaging the area for a while my flex was back to normal which was a relief. The mix of being sick and not doing much in the last week was probably the main reason. I did manage to go for a good run last night (around 4kms in total) and it was great to do some activity again. It also helped my calf niggle a bit although it still remains a bit tender today.

There is approximately 2 and half weeks before I go away on holiday to Europe for 6 weeks. In this time I hope to get back on track gym wise and running wise and get myself as fit as possible. As for Europe I am sure it will involve a lot of walking and my physio has also encouraged me to do as much as possible and to also do the odd gym session or two. Until my next update take care and hope everyone is doing well!