An Ode to the Squat

Throughout my recovery, my favorite physical therapy exercise has been the squat. My physical therapist is a big advocate, and she was happy when she heard I'm a fellow believer. I actually wish I'd been a believer sooner. In my case, it started in mid-May of last year. I wanted to really make a good effort to run regularly, and in my first few, my legs would start feeling sore and tired before I even hit 30 minutes, which used to be a short run for me. I then decided to put the running aside for a moment and build some strength in my legs with a dedicated squat program, when in the past I was more into leg extension, leg curl, and leg press. Squats are a free weight exercise; the others use machines. I went into the weight room three times a week, and made sure I did a couple of sets of squats each time. I didn't put all that much weight on the bar, but not having done free weight squats before, I felt myself getting a workout.

At the beginning of August, I resumed running again, and the difference was remarkable. When in the past, I would get sore legs shy of 30 minutes, I went 48 minutes without feeling the same degree of leg soreness. Later runs would see me going over 50 minutes sometimes. It was definitely a great feeling. I kept up my running regularly, going 3x/week in most weeks. I began to see myself trying out a race or two the coming fall. And then, the bone pains that began the following October derailed my plans.

After my amputation, I received a variety of physical therapy exercises to strengthen my legs so I would be able to walk again with a prosthesis. The first few involved doing stretches, leg extensions, leg curls, and leg raises on my bed. I later got swaying and sidestepping exercises to enable me to transition to walking when I got my first prosthesis, and other exercises to strengthen my glutes when I made the discovery that I needed them to really power my left leg well. At that point, I got reintroduced to the squat. At first, I was to do them with my hands holding onto a grab bar or similar support. Later, I graduated to doing the squats without grabbing onto anything, but while still having a chair behind me. I still have the chair behind me as an anti-fall measure, but I can now do squats without any supports there or nearby as well.

I can't argue with the results. Though I've always wished things could be progressing faster, my doctors have actually all been happy with my progress, telling me that many patients move a lot more slowly. Last night, I had a stretch where I actually felt like I was walking naturally for the first time since before my biopsy. I was feeling so good, I ditched the cane for that stretch so I could experience the full joy of natural walking. My motion felt completely fluid, without me worrying about something happening each time I pushed off my left leg. I didn't feel pain or pressure in the prosthesis either. I'm not like this most days. In fact, last night was the first time it was that good. I'm sure I'll have more downs too as well as ups, but this was a huge step forward in my rehabilitation. I made sure to save the moment in video: