Yesterday I had physical therapy and I was thrilled that planks were one of my new exercises! I know I know, but it’s the small things guys…

It has been about 3-4 months since I last did a plank (seems like an eternity) and I was definitely not as strong as I used to be.  It felt good to really feel my core working and also to have my arms shaking from fatigue at the end of my session.

Along with the planks I did rows using a resistance band, reverse shrugs using my body weight on a chair, and a lat exercise over head with a 3lb dumbbell. I will be practicing these exercises daily until my next PT visit on Monday.

Now onto the importance of Physical Therapy. Over the last few years I have had a couple of injuries and I have grown to LOVE PT. Of course I hate being injured but I have learned more about injury recovery through personal experience from my hip and shoulder.  This has made me a better personal trainer. One of the main things I learned were The phases of recovery:

1. Rest 2.Range of Motion 3. Strength

Obviously the strength phase is the most fun and motivating but the first 2 are so IMPORTANT. If you do not rest and recover in phase 1 you can risk re-injury or delayed recovery. As part of the treatment the second phase is to restore range of motion.  The 2nd Phase Range of motion is crucial so that the joint can move properly and in the future there is no injury because of a limited range of the joint. Phase 3 you get to exercise the shoulder either using bodyweight, bands, or weights! It’s the best part for me.

Although physical therapy can be painful because of massage and getting back the range of motion I know that as the weeks pass I am closer to having my strong shoulder back! It is awesome to see the progress. On my first PT session I could barely lift my arm up straight in front of me and now I can extend my arm fully over head using weights!

My advice for anyone that is going to physical therapy is be PATIENT. Recovery doesn’t happen over night but be diligent with the exercises you are given and you will see progress!

(this was Take 1 of my plank picture… as you can see Cooper was quite curious of the camera haha)

Happy First day of spring!!