45 weeks and 3 days

So its been 45 weeks and 3 days. I am cleared to fight again. I have been training only 5 days a week. 2 days of rest to make sure my knee has time to recover. I am resting a lot more than I ever have haha. I am set to fight January 31st. I dont have an opponent yet, but I am just going to be ready for it anyway.

How does my knee feel right now?
If I sit too long, I get stiff. I have to move it around.
It is numb on the side and I am still getting used to the numbness being the norm.
Every now and then I hear a loud click/crack. My knee just needs to adjust.
I can kneel on my knee. It still feels uncomfortable on the scar/patella area. I think the patella is still sensitive and I wonder if it will last forever.
I can do all these things now: Spar with kicks, push kicks, knees. I can jump! I can double jump. I can do jumps (knees to chest) all the way up to 10! I can sprint. I can jump rope for 3 rounds just like before. I can to a jump to my feet starting with my knees to the ground. I can do strength training on my leg. I can take 8 muay thai/kickboxing classes a week plus do mitt work plus strength and conditioning :-)

My other knee feels achy and I need to be careful. I got these knee compressions for both knees. I am wearing them when I train now. I thought I tore my meniscus on my good leg :-( but I think it was achy. I pushed through a training session and it magically felt better. It was achy over Thanksgiving. I think the rest was actually bad for it! I cant go more than 2 days without training or doing something active.

I am ready to fight. I dont care what the result is. I just hope to be healthy and strong to fight and keep on fighting after.

Week 18 Recap

I have overcome a plateau in my recovery process. Since I hit the fourth month mark on May 16th and since I started jogging May 20th, I have felt so much more stronger and confident with my knee. 

Recap with PT routine:

10 minute jog for warm up (start with 4.5 and work up to 6mph)

Stretch out. My extension is near normal and my flexion is normal.

Single leg hops forwards, backwards, side ways, clockwise, toe touches, "shuffle" 2 feet in and 1 out.    

           -2 sets of each thing.

I get on this machine and kick my leg out and pull in. We do 3 different speeds.

Resistance cord, 5 reps in each direction.

Mountain climber using sliders and suicide.

I need to make a video clip of all the exercises! Its hard to explain on here because I don't know the words.

In PT I jog for 10 minutes as a warm up and do lots of plyometrics. The first week I didn't do any leg days. I was worried that I would do too much so I stuck to upper body and core workouts...along with pad work with Jason. We'd do all hands of course and focus on straight punches and upper cuts to be cautious with hooks. 

Last week, I did incorporate 1 leg day in between PT days. It did not interfere much with my PT. I had PT Monday and Friday. My leg day was on Wednesday. I was able to do everything in PT Friday except single leg hop backwards. I could go forwards and in a circle but going backwards was a little slower than usual. Last week I did pad work 4 days, 5  rounds of boxing. Saturday, I wasn't sore one bit and got in my first sparring rounds in (me in blue):

I was super surprised at how confident I felt with my knee. I could bounce around as usual. I am so glad I kept boxing since my surgery...Even those days where I had to sit down and punch mitts. I don't remember ever writing about those days, but those were tough pad sessions because I couldn't use my legs and I had to make sure that all my power came from my core and shoulders. Now, standing and punching feels easy. I am bummed that I can't kick yet, but thats ok! I am going to focus my attention on my boxing and improve my footwork, my punches, and my head movement. By the time I can kick, which is in like 2 months, I will be so good with my boxing. I am also gonna keep working my upper body and doing strength training for my legs. I want to train my whole body and get it ready for my next fight!

Words of Encouragement to Self and All

I have to admit that I haven't always been pleasant to be around. Especially my boyfriend. From the few weeks before my doctors visit in April 21st till the week before May 19th, Ive been crazy. Very angry all the time, waking up upset, driving to and from work crying, lots of crying before going into the gym. I hated going to the gym and I didn't want to be there. At the same time I needed to be there. It was love hate. I didn't want to see anyone! Seeing people train in class, for fights, or work out in general was really upsetting. I would sit on the stationary bicycle and just dislike the situation so much. Looking at my knee pissed me off. I wanted to explain to my boyfriend what I was feeling but I couldn't. I still struggle with the words because I feel stupid feeling those things.

So, everyday, don't just do the same routine. After a week or two of doing the routine, change it up. You got to. For me, what kept me going was upper body workouts. For the first 12 weeks, I had the same routine. That drove me crazy! Don't do that. Write out a plan that you can stick to and build up on. I got help from teammates at the gym and they wrote out a 4 day upper body workout and 2 leg day plan. I have stuck to it the last 4 weeks and I feel so much better. Focus on what you can do, make goals, reach them! Make new ones and keep moving.

For me, I am going to be strong as shit for my upper body and core. I want to look strong and lean so doing that also requires eating cleaner. So, I have been eating more meat and veggies. I will get my leg strong again. Its just going to take time and diligence. So, everyday I am either moving closer or away from my goal. I want to fight amateur muay thai this fall. Id love to by November. Thats my goal so I got to reach it and prove to myself that I can do it. I graduate next Spring...or plan to, so i want to get this fight in before 2014 closes. Then I want to compete at WKAs next March and IKF in the summer. Theres too much stuff going on for me to miss another year. So, goals are set and must be reached!

16 weeks complete...on to week 17

So Im feeling pretty strong right now. I haven't been to PT in 3.5 weeks. But, I have been doing everything I CAN do to build strength in my leg and maintain some kind of conditioning.

To sum up the week, I took it pretty easy on my knee because I wanted to make sure that my knee wasn't swollen for tomorrow. I see the surgeon Monday at 2pm. I hate going to him, because its expensive and he always has bad news....or news I don't want to hear. I don't want to be a pessimist, but I think its important to prepare for bad news rather than go in being hopeful and then leaving disappointed and angry because I can't get closer to training. Last time I went I expected to be told that I could start jogging, single leg jumping, and start squatting with heavy weight. This time around, I do expect to start jogging and jumping. I really do! I am also running tomorrow regardless of what he says. I know I am ready for more! My knee doesn't hurt. On a scale from 0-10, I have 0! No pain.

I do get stiff after sitting for too long still. The transition from sitting for 30 minutes to walking is always uncomfortable, but when I get going, Im fine. If I keep moving, I am fine!

Things I have been doing that makes me happy are bicycle for 10-20mins, upper body weight lifting, and most of all...Padwork! Ive been doing pad work standing for 2 weeks now. We have been doing 5 rounds. Its the only thing that makes me sweat.

Week 15, light at the end of the tunnel

Been working on a different workout to help me get through this month.
Last week I did 2 leg days. Each day was different. I did experience a new kind of soreness as I walked but it went away after a day. This week I am also doing legs 2X, but instead of breaking up the routine in 2 sessions I am just going to do all of the exercises in one session. Ive been doing the bicycle for 10-15 minutes as a warm up.

I have been able to do bag work. I work my hands and defense. I am able to practice shielding kicks...I use my good leg to check and stand on my bad leg. I am also able to lead leg push kick. I can shadow box and throw kicks in the air. Jump rope is getting easier and kicking the soccer ball is fun. Yesterday, I tried kneeing the bag gently...putting my weight on my bad leg. It wasnt too bad...but mentally I was concerned I would ruin my graft. So, for now I will stick to push kicks, punches, and defense.

I dont experience a lot of pain. Its a 1. I do get really stiff if I sit too much. Sitting and then standing is uncomfortable but when I get moving I am fine.

Another thing I can do is hold mitts for others. Boxing only though.

Working on my diet this week is my new thing to develop. Im 133 at the end of the day, so Im going to try to walk around at 130 by the time I see the Dr. again.

Milestones:
Heel touches butt (Week 15)
Boxing (Since week 14: light pivoting, pushing off back leg)
Jump rope (Since week 12)
Kicks and knees to soccer ball (Since week 12)
Push kick on the heavy bag (Week 15)
Holding mitts for students (boxing only) (Week 15)



Today,
Bicycle 10-15 minutes
Leg workout
Ab work
Neck exercises
Heavy bag work 5 rounds-incorporate the elbows
Mitt work 5 rounds
Shadow boxing 3-5 rounds

First post

I haven't kept a blog in years. Looking back, the one thing I should have been more careful documenting was my muay thai training. I always tell new students that they should record their progress. After nearly 4 years of training, I'll start now.

I thought last year was the hardest year because I had to slow down training for nearly 4 months due to a concussion and a relapse. Not moving and not developing is living death to me so even on days when I felt like my head was going to explode, I'll continue pushing.

So, I found out yesterday that I tore my acl and my meniscus. The injury happened before christmas. I'm going to get everything reconstructed and its going to take several months to get back to full training. I probably wont be able to compete until next year. Unlike the people I work with, close friends, my mom, & maybe even the people I train with, I do not see this as a sign to quit and try a different "hobby". I love training to be the best at what I do and I see the setback as another challenge to reach my goals.

I saw this quote somewhere: "Giving up on your goal because of one setback is like slashing your other three tires because you got a flat." Like, one of my favorite blogger & muay thai fighter would say, "Dont act like a b#tch" -Ross. If one part of the body cant function 100% in training, then develop the other damn parts! I used to question this before because people always look at me at the gym and think Im crazy for training with injuries. When I saw pictures of my favorite fighter Miriam Nakamoto training after her surgery, I knew for sure that always moving forward is the right thing to do...and all these other people are wrong!

The best thing someone told me yesterday was that, "Things can only slow you down. Nothing can stop you but you." Im ready for another challenge and Ill embrace the pain and obstacles yet to come.