Bad start this morning . . .

I seem to be late at everything today . . . late getting up, late for PT, late posting . . . I didn't do too well for a Monday.       Let's talk about PT. I think it should be called physical torture. I am going twice a week to get stronger and strengthen my leg muscles in preparation for the knee replacements. I will probably have PT for at least three months after the surgery. To say I am getting familiar with my therapist, Wendy, is an understatement. Some of the positions I get into when she is stretching out my legs are downright obscene!

If you read this before Tuesday at 6:30 pm then the first and second paragraph were switched. When I did an edit I switched them by mistake!

I begin with 6 minutes on the recumbent bike. She keeps threatening to increase my time "the next time". Then I go to a series of machines to do leg lifts to strengthen my quadriceps. Next it is a series of exercises on the table including leg lifts, bridges, and knee slides. Now, keep in mind that the place is filled with the over 60 crowd. I am the youngest one there. Some of these guys are in their eighties and "working their program" better than me. 

Anyway, there is nothing funnier than to look around the room and see several of the more mature clients doing bridges. That is the one where you lay on your back, bend your knees and lift your pelvis in a not so sexy way. Up and down. Up and down. It's definitely a challenge not to laugh when I do this exercise. The only time I want to bump and grind is after a good bottle of wine and a romantic movie.

Next, Wendy takes my leg and lifts it over my head and asks "do you feel the stretch in your bottom?" Do I feel the stretch? I feel like a contortionist in Cirque de Soliel. Then she takes my leg and stretches the right leg over the left side of my body and the table and visa versa. Believe me, this should be called physical torture. It hurts but I smile demurly when asked and say (gritting through my teeth) "no, it's fine" because I want to get strong before my surgery. Gabe keeps telling me that I have to be strong.

I feel like I am building muscles I didn't know I had or have never used before. I would think that I would have lost weight by now but I remain the same every morning when I step on the scale. Maybe it's the snack I have when I am done therapy. I'm usually really hungry after a workout and feel the need to reward myself for "getting strong"!