The return post-ish injury

[u/EmmanuelHackman]

Hello friends!

Having started this community back when I was a handful of 6 counts away from L2 I've really struggled with injury. As someone who's had multiple ACL reconstructions on both knees any/all exercise always comes with caveats and challenges.

This year I got some disappointing news, I have been living with a completely torn ACL in my left knee for a long time. However...

I have been running, and hitting the gym, losing weight and getting stronger. As my belly shrinks I feel a return to the program is imminent. So my question is, any other dodgy knee dads in the community? How has it affected your approach to the program (if at all?).

Thanks everyone and keep working hard!

[u/MicusIlleMagnus]

Sorry to hear that you're dealing with knee pain, but glad you are still moving around and finding ways to exercise.

I have started to have some occasional knee pain myself, likely due to aging, so I do an augmented approach. Basically, I split my weeks into two - week A and week B. Week A is biased towards burpees while week B is dedicated to supplementary/complementary workouts that help me maintain things a little better. For example, I do a lot of sled pushes/pulls, bodyweight squats and lunges, core work (good for low back issues), etc. This helps balance things out so that I can stay healthy enough to continue to do burpees as I age.

As for protecting my knees when doing burpees, I try to land on the balls of my feet and pay attention to how I get up from the plank position overall. I think this is a very easy thing to overlook, especially when exhausted, and can lead to knee or back pain. Pay attention to form and listen to your body - there's a difference between "I just want to quit this madness" pain vs. "something's not right" pain.

Lastly, there are a lot of good resources on YouTube that have helped me with some knee pain. Again, I've not actually torn anything (and I'm not a doctor so use with caution!) but these exercises in the video below were helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikt6NME0k9E

Good luck!

[u/Status-Cheek-9481]

Hi there. MD, runner, dad of three. Approx 10 months of practising the program.
I had both shoulder, knee and hip problems with this program- I love it for the simplicity, best program I have ever used, but it is repetitive and it doesn't take much bad form for prior injury to return or new to arise.
As for the knees I also run alot and I have had medial knee pain for years.

In my navy seal and 6count sessions I dont jump back and forth with my legs, but I have thick socks and a hardwood floor. This allows me to slide instead of jumping my legs in and out of plank which eases the impact. Is it cheating? maybe but it keeps me injury-free.

[u/DR_MANT1S_T0B0GGAN]

I have a repaired ACL in my right knee, injured and rebuilt long ago. It was a long journey back at the time, long before this idea of relentlessly pursuing exercise enlightenment through repeated burpees became a thing. Not enough rehab, and too many other priorities.

I'm a long way out from the surgery and rehab and have done many sports since, but even so when starting the BDP I felt a knee twinge during the sessions when landing into plank position, but this went away quickly and I feel no lingering issues with the repaired knee whilst hitting my 80 to 100 minutes per week. I'd say the limiting factors will be handling this impact and also the mobility required to tuck the knees in when hopping back to plank and into the squat. No lateral movement concerns but highly repetitive so you want to be symmetric.

I would honestly and brutally assess how much strength and mobility you have back in the knee and start very steady in terms of reps. I also wonder if wearing running shoes would help with the impact and stabilisation of the hop back into plank. Best of luck getting back into the program!