Get Down On It

Decided in my PT session on Saturday that my knee was probably now strong enough to try some “proper” squats. For the last year I’ve been using a bench to avoid over stretching the joint, but given that I can now comfortably run 10K without having to strap it up, it seems we might be able to push things a little further.
Not my usual 70kg though! My trainer thought that about 45kg would be manageable - which it definitely proved to be. The addition of the ramp to make sure I was driving up through my heels definitely helped as well. Pretty chuffed with what I achieved on a first attempt and I’m not sure I could have gone any lower without really doing myself a mischief!
Mind you - I really felt it the next morning! Basically, if anything fell on the ground yesterday, it stayed there. A bit better today so thought I’d venture back to the gym. But given that everything was still aching somewhat, I erred on the side of caution and used the bench to avoid mishaps.
On the plus side, I used the free bar for chest press (something I’ve only really started doing recently) at the end of the session, and was quite pleased to hit a PB of 55kg. Still a good few kg off what I think I’m capable of, but didn’t want to go any higher without having someone to spot me.
I think we’re getting to the point now where I need to start introducing new elements into my gym routine. I’ve been doing the same programme for over a year (with interruptions for lockdowns!) and the joints/muscles it was designed to help are all better now. But there’s a whole new set of aches and strains which have appeared in their place, and need to be addressed. Ah, the joys of an ageing body!