MUSCLE FORTRESS’s BodyBlog

Well first game back on my indoor team went well. I was a little clumsey at first but picked up speed as I got into the flow. Finished with 3 goals and 3 assists and we won the league Championship 8 to 5. (Remember it’s indoor) I think the last month and a half of biking really helped. FYI to those out there rehabing.

Last couple weeks I have also incorporated a pretty balistic plyo/olympic left day into my regiment. My legs were strong but my lungs weren’t as good. Nothing gets you into soccer shape but playing soccer so even the biking didn’t have me fully prepaired. Any way out door soccer starts in a month and I hope to be full speed by then… I also didn’t wear a brace so I met my goal to come back with out needing a brace. ciao

MF

It’s been nearly 3 month since my last update. Sorry so long. My routine hasn’t changed dramatically and I’ve been travelling a ton with work but I’ve stayed pretty diligent. With travelling I’ve trained in Canada, Las Vegas, Iowa and PA over the last month and a half. Tough schedule to stick to. I’m supposed to be in San Jose in two weeks and Dallas the week after that but back to my Rehab. I’ve kept up with my work out and supplementation. Strength has come back almost completely. The main thing I’ve added in and I would really recommend it is biking. I wish I would have started sooner. When I’m home my morning regiment has been a mile walk with my dog as warm up then a five and half mile bike sprint about half on a pretty steep grade. Even though my bike has 24 speeds I only use the toughest on the second gear for hills and the toughest gear over all on the rest. It has brought my lateral stability way up. My leg strength had been feeling really good but when I went out and did my plyos and lateral movement it felt weak. Which freaked me a little. Since I’ve been riding (it’s been about 6 weeks, 14 mornings straight) my stability has come around dramatically. Out door soccer doesn’t start for another 6 weeks so I should be ready. I will try and get a couple indoor games in between now and then to work on getting my touch back. I’ll keep you all posted on my stretch run and hopefully I’ll be able to post that I’m all the way back very soon. ciao

MF

Hello all. Just checking in to update my progress continues just seems sooo slow! I’ve been pretty religious in following my routine from last blog. Here is what I’m up to.

Leg portion consisted of straight leg deadlifts 135lbs for 5 sets of 20. Followed by dumbell snatches 3 sets of 16 (each arm) 55 lb DB. Break of 15 minutes on the eliptical set on 13 strength mode. Then 15 minutes of stretching followed by step up on to 24 inch platforms (with explosion, drive into air at top of stride) 12 each side. Super set with 1 leg squat off platform with body weight for 8 reps and balance 30 seconds on one leg then finish with calf raises same leg (16 to 20 reps). Then switch and do other leg. 3 super sets. That was it, like I said it was light.

Heavy day was Friday and will be again this Friday.

Leg Press One plate each side 2 sets 30 reps;

2 Plates each side 2 sets 20 reps;

3 plates each side 2 sets 20 reps;

4 plates each side 2 sets 20 reps;

5 plates each side 2 sets 20 reps;

6 plates each side 1 set 20 reps;

7 plates each side 1 set 20 reps;

Then back down the same way only one set each startin with 4 plates for 20 reps ending with 1 plate 30 reps.

***Emphasis explosion on positive and deceleration and control on negative.***

I then did 3 sets with 80 lbs on the seated hamstring curl for 12 reps each.

3 sets of 16 reps on hamstring curls with swiss ball.

Finish with a killer. Take the swiss ball pinch it between your feet and then throw it in the air with your legs catch it with your feet and try to crush it then repeat. Until failure 3 sets. Wicked on both the inside and outside of your quad and hips.

I’ve also continued to stay pretty true to my supplementation.

Vaso CrEE 2 serving mixed in Amino Vital Pure RTD per day.

Muscle Stack Pack 2 serving per day

Vaso Pump 6 caps per day

Labrada Elasti Joint and Nutrition Bounty Glu Chon MSM one serv twice per day

I think that’s been a big help. My strength is coming along good both upper and lower body.

I will be starting speed camp/rehab in 2 weeks so I will update everyone on that when I start. I’ve been doing some light jogging nothing too fancy so this should be very challenging. Other than that same old same old. I did do a great interveiw with Vince Andrich check it out below.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/industry18.htm”>http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/industry18.htm</a>

See ya in a few weeks. ciao

Gianni (MF)
 

Hello, Hello!

I just finished my light plyo day for legs, I know it’s a little late at night but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Todays leg portion consisted of straight leg deadlifts 135lbs for 3 sets of 12. Followed by dumbell snatches 3 sets of 16 (each arm) 45 lb DB. Break of 15 minutes on the eliptical set on 13 strength mode. Then 15 minutes of stretching followed by step up on to 24 inch platforms (with explosion, drive into air at top of stride) 12 each side. Super set with 1 leg squat off platform with body weight for 4 reps and balance 30 seconds on one leg then finish with calf raises same leg (16 to 20 reps). Then switch and do other leg. 3 super sets. That was it, like I said it was light.

Heavy day was Friday and will be again this Friday.

Leg Press One plate each side 2 sets 30 reps;

2 Plates each side 2 sets 20 reps;

3 plates each side 2 sets 20 reps;

4 plates each side 2 sets 20 reps;

5 plates each side 2 sets 20 reps;

Then back down the same way only one set each startin with 4 plates for 20 reps ending with 1 plate 30 reps.

***Emphasis explosion on positive and deceleration and control on negative.***

I then did 3 sets with 80 lbs on the seated hamstring curl for 12 reps each.

3 sets of 16 reps on hamstring curls with swiss ball.

Finish with a killer. Take the swiss ball pinch it between your feet and then throw it in the air with your legs catch it with your feet and try to crush it then repeat. Until failure 3 sets. Wicked on both the inside and outside of your quad and hips. Plus builds some coordination. ;o)

And that’s it. I will do this work out until my next Doctors visit then maybe I’ll see if I can get insurence to pay for me to go to a speed camp for my PT. Wish me luck. Peace out. night

MF

First I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has stopped by and offered encouragement or asked questions as it has kept me more diligent.

I really think the supplements help. It makes sense that anything that would improve the action of the muscles and help hydrate it would be beneficial in recovery also. I mean if you think about why do you take Vaso CrEE to help with cell volumization and superhydration of the cell, helping with atp production and muscle recovery. Sounds perfect to keep post surgery atrify (sp) to a minimum. The Vaso Pump with it’s cell volumizing and vaso relaxant qualities helps to maintain better blood flow throughout the body. Better blood flow speeds recovery on a cellular level by providing clearing of damaged cells and delivery of nutrients to the surrounding affected area. The Muscle Stack Packs ad additional nutrients that help keep you healthy "These nutrients are essential to many functions in our bodies including proper immune system function, helping repair muscle after intense exercise, and fueling the brain for proper nervous system function. Essential fatty acids are important for the rejuvenation of skin and muscle, mobilizing fatty acids for energy, and proper nerve function. " One of the main PT steps is getting the affected area back up to speed with nerves firing again. Lastly though I didn’t use the Renu Fit that much it did help me sleep when I was just out of surgery and taking a boat load of pain killers and sleep is where you heal. The joint products I take are the lubricants/building blocks for ligament, tendon and cartilage repair so I think they have also been beneficial.

As far as what your PT told you it makes perfect sense. You don’t use your legs singally very often. They work in conjunction with one another one balancing for the other when walking, running, lifting or playing sports. If you are just working one then you could create imbalances which could cause even more problems and or future injuries. I’ve personally noticed (what people have told me is) quite fast recovery from using both legs in all my PT. I try my best not to cheat with my non surgically repaired leg either. Thank you for stopping by and I hope with the input provided by others and myself on this blog we can help some people recover quicker by following our successes or by not repeating our mistakes . ciao
MF

Hope everyone is doing well. Rehab is going well I continue to progress. I haven’t added any thing new to my routine other than some thera band work. I work all four angles of movement on both legs. You wouldn’t think you would need to do both legs except balancing on the repaired leg while working the good leg is almost as good a work out as working it directly. Not to mention you have to rehab the good leg as hard as the repaired to keep balance.
On another note I full out ran for the first time this weekend of course it wasn’t part of my rehab it was thanks to the lack of cabs in Columbus ;o) Damn! Did anyone else have trouble getting a cab? Any way it worked pretty good except 3 college girls beat me to my cab and being the gentleman I am I let them have it. ( and when I was done they got the cab too) lol Just kidding ………not about them taking my cab. Any way I made it back safe and sound and the knee was stronger for the walk.
As far as supplements I continue taking the regiment I have mentioned on this blog before and I do think they have helped a great deal in my quick recovery. I have added some 4 Ever Fit protein they have a couple fruit flavors that rock! Tried them at the show. Oddly enough you can get them here at bb.com what good luck since their a bunch of Canucks and I’d hate to try to order it from Canada……aren’t we at war with Canada? Well any way it’s getting late and I’m getting squerrely so good night all.
MF

I’ve continued to do the PT I mentioned in the past with good success. If your interested in seeing that please look at my past posts. I want to digress slightly now and tell everyone what I think has helped me the most and can help others that are going thru like ACL recovery or will be going thru it.

PT is great but hard to do every day on a busy schedule plus the therapist will charge you $40 a session for 30 minutes and the Doc will only prescribe 2 to 3 sessions per week. Not nearly enough to get you back (in my unexpert opinion). What I think has helped as much as visiting a therapist are the things I do every day, every hour. While your at work, in the car, eating dinner or watching TV. When ever I think about it I try and do something that will force better range of motion or challenge the muscles of my knee. Now before you think I’m doing plyo’s and write me off as an idiot stay with me here. I will stand in line, or at home watching TV on my repaired knee and balance for the time between commercials or as I am walking around roll from heel to tip of my toes to activate my calves. Other times I will do 40 or 50 toes raises just while I’m on my computer at work or talking to customers or manufacturers. I have found 100’s of ways to work my leg’s strength, flexibility and mobility thru out the day from walking along the curb with your kids and try to keep from falling off, to putting my heel up on a bleacher and flexing my quad while I try and carefully press my knee down to increase extention at my daughters basketball games. The every day little things come out to put you farther ahead than just PT and I know plenty of people who don’t do anything other than PT. Hope this helps.

My supplementation has stayed the same except for one addition.

I have added Knox Nutra joint with glucosamine 1 scoop per day. (I have taken this in the past and liked it. That’s why I have added it in to this regiment)

Vaso CrEE 2 serving mixed in Amino Vital Pure RTD per day.

Muscle Stack Pack 2 serving per day

Vaso Pump 4 caps per day

Labrada Elasti Joint and Nutrition Bounty Glu Chon MSM one serv twice per day

I have continued to ride the stationary bike for 20 minutes before and 20 minutes after my work outs. I’ve increased the pace and am doing level 13 at about 90 to 100.

As I’ve said each time "this all sounds tedious, boring and slow but I want to rehab fully without reinjury so it’s a fine line between male ego and smart rehab."

Peace out, ciao

It’s been 40 days since surgery. I’ve added in a couple harder excersises.

I’ve been trying to do these 3 times a week. I’ll incorporate them between sets on upper body days. 

Squats on a teeter board. (just body weight) 3 sets by 12 reps

Hamstring work with the Swiss ball 3 sets by 12 reps 

Wall squats with swiss ball (body weight) 3 sets by 12 reps not too deep. 

Make sure (as with regular leg work) on squat movements keep knee behind toes. Keeps undo strain off knee ligaments.

This portion hasn’t changed and I have continued to try and do them every day.  

Toe raises: I think these have helped the most I can feel them activate all the muscles up the back of my leg plus force me to lock out my leg in a straight position and when I do seated ones they pump blood into my calf and knee area. I’ve been doing them since about day five.

Heel raises: Alternate with toes raises to keep range of motion.

Just walking around the house working on using correct form heel to toe. ( I even roll up on my toe a little to increase my range and activate the calf a little)

I sit in a chair and do leg extensions (NO WEIGHT) trying to completely lock out my leg in extension is key. As I learned extension at this stage is more important than flex. If you don’t get your full extention back early on you may never get it back so push your self hard on achieving full extension. I regressed a little after a slip on the ice. ( I’m currently to a -1 on my repaired leg and -4 on my good leg so slightly hyperextended which is still good.)

Locked leg raises. 5 sets of 30 reps with a 30 second pause at the end of each set. (I’ve worked up to this started with 3 sets of 8 to 10) This helps to reactivate the quad muscles but be careful as I have suffered a little bit of a groin pull early on as I pushed it a little to hard and my muscle weren’t all firing leading to the strain.

I’m doing hip flexor stretches as my hips have tightened beyond belief. Calf Wall stretches and hamstring stretches.

My doc has told me this is the time to be most careful as my new ligament will actually weaken around this time before it starts to strengthen as my body assimilates it and changes the hamstring tendon into an ACL. (laymans terms) So even though I’m really starting to feel pretty good I have to be even more careful.

My supplementation has stayed the same.

Vaso CrEE 2 serving mixed in Amino Vital Pure RTD per day.

Muscle Stack Pack 2 serving per day

Vaso Pump 4 caps per day

Labrada Elasti Joint and Nutrition Bounty Glu Chon MSM one serv twice per day

I have been able to get into the gym and will ride the stationary bike for 20 minutes before and after my work outs. I’ve increased the pace and am doing level 7 at about 90.

As I said last time "this all sounds tedious, boring and slow but I want to rehab fully without reinjury so it’s a fine line between male ego and smart rehab." 

Peace out, ciao

It has been exactly one month since my ACL surgery!

Due to the tons of snow we’ve had I haven’t made it to the gym as consistantly as I would have liked but I have been dilegently stretching and doing my home rehab stuff. Which consists of:

Toe raises: I think these have helped the most I can feel them activate all the muscles up the back of my leg plus force me to lock out my leg in a straight position and when I do seated ones they pump blood into my calf and knee area. I’ve been doing them since about day five.

Heel raises: Alternate with toes raises to keep range of motion.

Just walking around the house working on using correct form heel to toe. ( I even roll up on my toe a little to increase my range and activate the calf a little)

I sit in a chair and do leg extensions (NO WEIGHT) trying to completely lock out my leg in extension is key. As I learned extension at this stage is more important than flex. If you don’t get your full extention back early on you may never get it back so push your self hard on achieving full extension. ( I’m currently to a -2 on my repaired leg and -4 on my good leg so slightly hyperextended which is good.)

Locked leg raises. 5 sets of 30 reps with a 30 second pause at the end of each set. (I’ve worked up to this started with 3 sets of 8 to 10) This helps to reactivate the quad muscles but be careful as I have suffered a little bit of a groin pull early on as I pushed it a little to hard and my muscle weren’t all firing leading to the strain.

I’m doing hip flexor stretches as my hips have tightened beyond belief. Calf Wall stretches and hamstring stretches.

My doc has told me this is the time to be most careful as my new ligament will actually weaken around this time before it starts to strengthen as my body assimilates it and changes the hamstring tendon into an ACL. (laymans terms) So even though I’m really starting to feel pretty good I have to be even more careful.

My supplementation has stayed the same.

Vaso CrEE 2 serving mixed in Amino Vital Pure RTD per day.

Muscle Stack Pack 2 serving per day

Vaso Pump 4 caps per day

Labrada Elasti Joint and Nutrition Bounty Glu Chon MSM one serv twice per day

I have been able to get into the gym a few time and will ride the stationary bike for 20 minutes nice and slow more for range of motion than anything else.

This all sounds tedious, boring and slow but I want to rehab fully without reinjury so it’s a fine line between male ego and smart rehab. (as I almost played dodge ball with my daughters softball team yesterday, pray for me! ;o))

Peace out, ciao
 

I’ll bring everyone up to speed who hasn’t seen my thread. It’s actually coming along better than I could have imagined.

12/12

Just an update. Damn this hurts like hell!! I’m praying for a quick death. Wait what time is it? oh I get to take some more Oxycodone. Maybe I’ll pass on the quick death. I miss the gym already. Ha Ha ciao

12/18

Spent the day walking on it Sunday (crutch assisted) had to finish my Christmass shopping. Start PT this week. peace out

12/18

He hasn’t but I start PT this week I expect them to give me my parameters. However I will keep that in mind. Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by randomhero97 I am sure your ortho has told you this but stay away from that Godforsaken leg extension machine when you start lifting again. Also, unilateral work will help too.

12/25

Day 13.

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Crazy shit how quick they get ya going. Friday I did my first PT. Gave me protocal to strengthen knee, ham and quad. Have been walking without crutches for 5 days. Am up to almost full range of motion though my knee is still extremely week. I’ll get some pics on my body space this week of my knee. It’s pretty wild how the muscles shut down. A little scary actually. Peace out and Merry Christmas.