Why You Should Be Training DAILY After ACL Surgery

One of the biggest mistakes I see athletes making when trying to come back from ACL or other knee surgery is not training often enough. You get 1, maybe 2 physical therapy visits a week if you're lucky and some basic homework which doesn't even make you break a sweat.

This is not going to cut it if you are looking to make a real transformation. We've talked about it before in these articles:

If it's easy it's not making you better.

You need to be challenged, you need to be pushed especially in these first couple months after surgery. This initial period is critical to prevent you sliding backwards any farther than absolutely necessary. The more we can do in this period the more you put yourself in a position to be able to bounce back and excel in the later stages.

But it's hard because you can't do much right? You can't do much loading, you can't run or jump, you've only got a handful of things you're allowed or able to do… how do I make it more challenging? Do More.

If you can't push intensity, push frequency.

What are the things you can do every single day, even twice a day if you're really serious, to take your recovery into your own hands and do everything in your power excel rather than fall behind -- to take charge rather than complain about what your therapist may or may not be doing to challenge you.

Everybody that I work with in the early stages of their recovery (2 - 4 months) trains 6 days a week sometimes twice a day. What this allows us to do is stack up small wins every single day rather than having one huge training day at physical therapy, a few days off with minimal if any training, then another huge day the next time you go. This is a much more natural way for the body to train and develop and allows us to make much smoother progress with less setbacks.

Even more than just the physical component the psychological benefit you get by stacking up 10 or 12 wins in a week compared to the 1 or 2 you might get training in a clinic is massive. You can feel yourself progressing a little bit day over day, week over week, and that momentum is a powerful force that you start to crave and can help drive you forward to bigger and better successes.

This is one of the biggest advantages of our online coaching program compared to PT visits is that we get to train in a way that is optimal for your body instead of optimal from a business and billing standpoint. We are not restricted by what is practical or best for the business, we can give you everything you need to successful.

Now whether you and I get the opportunity to work together personally or not I still want to share the two activities I find to be most effective for this style of daily training and encourage every single athlete I work with to do. These also work great even if you are already working with a PT or trainer as they're not going to take away from or interfere with the training you are already doing 

First and foremost is a daily 10 minute backwards walk ideally outside, barefoot, in the grass. As simple as it is there are huge benefits to be had from repeating this simple task daily or at least as often as possible. If getting outside or barefoot aren't possible where you're at that's ok you will still get benefit just from walking backwards.

I can try to describe the benefits to circulating fluid through the joint, working extension, getting sunlight, fresh air, and contact with the earth, and improving gait but to be honest it's really just one of those you have to go out and try for yourself to see the benefits. Try this every day for just one week and I guarantee you'll notice a difference in how your knee feels and moves.

The second daily task is just stepping up the intensity of that same task with some resisted backwards training either on a sled, treadmill left turned off, dragging a duffel bag, or whatever makeshift setup you can create (for the better part of a year I used a couple of sandbags inside of a cheap nylon laundry bag from amazon attached to the gymnastics rings I already had outside at a local park and it worked great).

5 - 10 minutes here and you can get a ton of blood flow into the knees and quads which can help improve circulation and healing and reduce pain and stiffness all without overloading the joint, placing any impact on the knee, or creating any soreness within the muscle that could negatively impact your training.

These two simple tasks repeated daily can have a profound impact on the rate of your recovery. They cost virtually nothing (you could makeshift your sled for < $20-30) and take 15 - 20 minutes a day (ideally they are completed separately ex. Walk in the morning, sled in the afternoon).

If you're serious about doing everything you can to comeback a better athlete, then there's no excuse not to find a way to include this in your daily regimen.

This is just a taste of the unconventional approach I use to help athletes come back stronger after their ACL and other knee surgeries. To date I've used these methods to help over 60 athletes comeback from serious knee injuries without a single one who's completed the whole process getting reinjured OR injuring the other side. That's not to say it will never happen but it's not a bad track record so far. 

If you're looking for help with your own recovery fill out my short training application below (there's no risk or commitment just a chance to start a conversation):

As always feel free to connect with me on social media like Instagram and YouTube for more free content or to send me a message and ask questions.

Otherwise I appreciate your continued reading and support and I will see you in next week's article. Till then, bye ✌🏼