The whole idea of "rinse and repeat" has never been high on my list. Repetition continued over long periods of time is a sure fire way for me to loose interest and motivation. Knowing the purpose and understanding the benefits can be helpful in the beginning, but not usually sustainable for me. That being said, I do find push ups and sit ups sustainable as they can be broken up through out the day and take relatively little time to do. They can be mindful or mindless depending on my intent and need at the time. I am also able to focus on different variations of each for additional benefits, while working on my technique.
Repetition regarding my physio exercises are completely different and require a different way of thinking and adjustments. I have been dealing with chronic knee issues for a number of years now and have been seeing a physiotherapist regularly since July, 2020. At the start there were a few exercises to complete each day with only a small time commitment. Slowly over time more exercises and stretches have been added. I had faithfully been doing the exercises 5 - 7 days per week.
The biggest improvement has been that my left knee rarely buckles on me now. Big plus! There has also been some improvement in strength and flexibility when the therapist tests these areas. The right knee is stronger but has less stability than the left knee. However I am not feeling any great improvement when doing my Kung Fu training. The training that we do puts a lot of strain on the knees, so some things I need to modify and I also have to be careful of too much repetition as this can cause issues. I mostly train now wearing shoes with my orthotics in to help with arch support and lessen the impact of my training. Every so often I still do some bare foot training as this helps me with feeling the transitions and it is just easier to move more smoothly.
In the past 2-3 weeks I have mostly stopped doing all the physio exercises. I know that I had come to dislike and thus avoided them. Way too much repetition, time suck and too few results. I had also not seen the physiotherapist since November. Due to a recent sharp pain in my left knee last week, I decided it was time to revisit physio. So I saw her just a few days ago and guess what, she gave me a few more exercises. Nothing torn though, so that is good! I discussed with her how often the exercises should be done for best results. I was hoping for an answer that would allow maybe 3 days a week, but instead got 5-7 days a week and twice a day for optimal results. Oh boy!
Something different has to happen to make this doable and sustainable. After talking with Logan, I have a plan. He had suggested listening to podcasts or audio books while working through the exercises. This is something that I can get on board with and feel like I am accomplishing more even if it is not about my knees in the immediate future. If anyone has podcasts they would like to recommend or audio books to share please send me a message or comment.
Namaste!
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