My physical therapist Valerie gave me some exercises for gluteus medius strength that she uses with her young competitive skaters. They’re hard! I went home and tried a set with a 3# ankle weight, put my hip out of action for days. Valerie informed me that for where I was at, that was way too much. Yeah, that light bulb had already flickered on.
I switched to doing one set with no weight on days where I did no other hip exercises. Over a month I gradually added a 1# and then a 2# weight. Last week I tried the 3# again, and like a fool, did 2 sets plus some other hip exercises. I was going out of town and wanted a good workout before I left.
Well I got one. Four days later, without any additional skating or working out (though lots of walking and standing) I’m still sore. While I’ve been so pleased at how fast my strength has come back, there are limits. I’m 54 and coming back from an injury and months of forced inactivity. I have to let go of my competitive streak and stick to a light workout.
Valerie has prescribed the following, for me to do from a side-lying position:
10 leg lifts
10 tiny circles with upraised leg, then 10 circles in other direction.
Hold foot up to count of 10.
1o “rainbows,” leg up and over, back and forth.
10 “running mans.”
See the video for details.
Meanwhile in my skating, I’ve dusted off my rose program to perform later this month. It’s an artistic program with very few jumps and Valerie thinks it would be a good first skating project for me.
There’s a small local competition on the 26th where I can skate exhibition for a modest fee. My rose program is for my dad. I think about him a lot at this time of year because his birthday was March 25th and he passed away on April 6th. So it’s a good moment for me to skate this program.
I’m only skating half an hour on most days, but since I’ve performed this program four times I think I can pull it off.
Related Posts:
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Physical Therapy Baby Steps My first three weeks of physical therapy after my L4/L5 microdiscectomy and L5/S1 microdecompression.- PT for Back-Related Hip Pain- Done! Trying to maintain my physical therapy stretching and strengthening exercises to avoid overuse injuries and back pain.
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
I do the circles (without weights, though)–and yes, these are hard! So glad you are working on a program, Mary. That will be inspiring and fun. And what a great tribute to your dad, showing how much perseverance and gumption his daughter has!
Jo recently posted..66 days
Thanks, Jo, that’s nice of you to point out some positive qualities there. They may be the ones that show when I perform it, more than, say, “polish.” Just one more week before my performance and I was out of town for most of this week. I’m glad I brought my skates and skated a couple of times while I was gone!
Those hip exercises look difficult, especially with weights! I’m excited to see your rose program back. I know how much that means to you, and you always perform it with passion.
Eva at Eva Bakes recently posted..Chinese red bean nian gao (紅豆年糕)
Thanks, Eva, I’ve been glad to work on it, too. It’s nice to go back to something that I’ve performed enough that it’s pretty easy to remember. It’s been two years since I’ve done it, though, so there’s definitely some dusting off to do!
Wow the exercises are hard by themselves so I can only imagine how hard they are with weights!
Yeah I’ve realized that I can’t go too far with the weights at this point. Nothing wrong with doing them without!
Hip strength is definitely a weakness of mine! These are great exercises…I’d have to work my way up to using weights!
Janelle recently posted..Rock ‘n Roll DC Half Marathon Recap
As it turns out, me too!
These exercises sound alot like one of my pilates videos. Those moves leaves my legs burning but they are so important!
Lisa recently posted..5 Workouts For Speedy Spring Running
Yes, they are very good for protecting both your back and your knees.
I should try these exercises for my glutes, too! Thanks!
Rachel recently posted..5 Ways Momentum Jewelry Will Keep you Moving Forward
Anytime! I hope they help.
This reminds me I need to get back to doing hip exercises. Like you I tend to overdo. I’m thrilled to hear you’re back on the ice and I’m sure your rose program will be just as lovely as it was before.
Marcia recently posted..5 Things I’m Looking Forward to This Spring
Thanks Marcia, I hope so! I feel pretty relaxed about it so far and just glad to be out there.
Sometimes those basic moves can be the hardest – especially those leg circles!
Coco recently posted..Five Ways I’m Ready To Run The NYC Half
Yup!
I definitely need to do some work on my hips, so these look awesome. I need to bookmark this as I start heading into higher mileage soon.
MCM Mama Runs recently posted..Ten things learned in ten years of racing
I hope everything will go well for you with the higher mileage!
My coach is big on glute work. She truly believes that glute work is the key to running success!
Wendy recently posted..Book Review: Your Pace or Mine? by Lisa Jackson
It’s very important for skaters, too, especially a strong gluteus medius to properly stabilize the knee.
I used to do some of these a few years back when I was in PT. Have no idea why I stopped doing them.
Deborah recently posted..STELLAr Week At The Ranch & Balega Giveaway
It’s hard to keep up those PT exercises for prevention long-term. More motivating to do them for healing when we’re hurt!
Perfect timing as I am working on my hip strength now! I will definitely be doing some of these exercises!!
I’m sure they will help your strength! Just don’t overdo like I did!
I use a band to work on my glute medius with the leg lifts and clamshells. It’s good to hear you’re gaining back strength.
I’ve never ice-skated before – horrible balance and scared of falling. Goodluck at your competition. What a wonderful way to honor you dad.
Thanks Elaine! My program has been a helpful way for me to stay in touch with my feelings for my dad. I haven’t used a band with clamshells yet, though I hope I will eventually get to the point where I can add resistance. I’ve got quite the collection of PT bands around here, though, so I’m sure I could find one that would work!
I do a lot of these exercises myself….my hips and glutes are definitely my weak spots. Thanks for sharing!!
Kimberly Hatting recently posted..High Steppin’ in the SpRiNg
They are the weak spots for a lot of people!
Adding weights always makes what seems like easy to perform exercises so difficult.
Kathryn recently posted..Friday Five – Potpourri v. 19
Yup!
Looks like an great addition to any workout program. Inline skating ha shown me muscles I have not used in forever!
Toni recently posted..My 2017-2018 Race Schedule UPDATED
Skating is quite unlike walking or running, uses some different muscles for sure!
These seem like very powerful exercises, Mary! Can’t wait to try them out!
Agness of Fit Travelling recently posted..Climbing in Bavaria – Frankenjura’s 10,000 Routes 🌄
Thanks Agness, I hope they were helpful!
Hello, perfect timing as I am working on my hip strength now! I will definitely be doing some of these exercises!
Thanks
I hope they will help! Thanks for leaving me a comment, I always like knowing when my content is useful.