Monster Walks - Appropriate for the Halloween Season

As I had thought, yesterday was busy, busy and busy. But I actually buckled down and got a lot done - meetings and more meetings and laundry and more laundry and groceries. Oh, and my phone call with Aearwen - a foundational "good mental health" thing for me. All in all, it was a rather successful day of cleaning, organizing, talking and listening. I could use a few more of these, but today it's back to the "grind". 

Monster Walk has me standing on the band with it criss-crossing
at my abdomen so that I'm holding opposite feet. Then I walk
sideways ten steps to the left, then reverse to the right. I repeat this
procedure two times. It's a bit tricky and I suspect it will take me
a couple of days to get used to the new motion. 

My Physical Therapist has added another exercise to my crowded list of therapy, but the name of it had me laughing. "Monster Walks" uses a green Theraband and through a criss-cross hold, exercises the exterior of the upper leg through the knee muscles. I've been having problems with my kneecap shifting in my right leg, and this is one of several exercises we're doing to help strengthen my hip and thigh muscles, which will eliminate the problem. 

The ligament at the front holds the Patella
(kneecap) in place. My kneecap has been
shifting, so we're working on strengthening
the muscles and ligaments to stop that movement
from happening. Of course, all of the muscles
come from the hips, so that's the focal. 

One thing my PT said that I found of interest - most people, unless they are skiers or skaters, will have weak hips which leads to all kinds of knee and mobility issues. He said he could choose a random ten people off the street, test them for hip strength, and most of them would fall into the "weak" category. It doesn't surprise me, we walk all the time, but walking really doesn't strengthen that specific group of muscles. I was rather appalled by how weak my muscles were. Time to get it into gear and really work hard at getting strength back so that I can keep my mobility as long as possible. 

DH and I have been Blue Cross Blue Shield members
for years for our health insurance. We've switched now
and again, but always seem to come back to them. 

On the insurance front, I'm set for another year of health insurance, and some things have actually decreased in cost!?!?! It's a shock, but I'll absolutely take it. The premium is going up $8 a month beginning in January, but I can live with that. 

So today, I'll start my new routine at the gym which will actually take a bit longer. That's probably going to require as much as an additional ten minutes in the gym, so I'll miss the after-workout conversations with Rosemary, Lynn and Laurie, but that can't be helped. I'll manage, and I can usually at least say "Hi" to everyone before we separate for our respective workouts. 

Have an excellent Thursday. I'll be back tomorrow, at least that's the plan. Be good, be kind, and stay cozy.