Janis - I love floor work, could you PM me with what you're doing? I'd love more options.
It is some non-weight bearing exercises Morningstar put together. There are numerous ways you could add more intensity, but with my injury the goal was to not put any weight on my ankle...
Here it is for everyone who is interested....it can definitely be done while watching tennis! (or any t.v.!)
Begin Morningstar rotation:
· (32 per leg) Donkey kicks (on hands and knees, kick up behind you with one leg to the ceiling)
· (32 per leg) Pizza presses (similar to donkey kicks, but keep your knee bent when you raise it and don’t point your toe)
· (32 per leg) Fire hydrants (on hands and knees, raise one knee up and out to the side, crossing your toe behind the toe of the other foot)
· (64) Lying Abductor (outer thigh) band crosses (lie on your back with straight legs in the air, place band around both feet and cross the band in front so that each hand is holding the band end from the opposite foot, press outward with band) Don't do this one if the resistance is too much.
· (32 per leg) Abductor (outer thigh) leg lifts (lower leg bent, upper leg straight, toe pointed downwards)
· (8 reps of 16 pulses each, for each leg) Abductor (outer thigh) leg lifts on ball, small pulses
· (32 per leg) Abductor (outer thigh, IT band) leg swooshes (lie on side, lower leg bent, upper leg bending toward your chest then straightening)
· (8 reps of 16 pulses each, for each leg) Abductor (outer thigh) leg swooshes, small pulses
· (64 per leg) Adductor (inner thigh) leg lifts (lie on your side, place upper leg on a yoga block or move it in front or behind the lower leg, raise and lower bottom leg)
· (8 reps of 16 pulses each, for each leg) Adductor (inner thigh) leg lifts, small pulses
· (64) Adductor (inner thigh) stability ball squeezes, knees bent
· (32) Adductor (inner thigh) stability ball squeezes, legs straight, butt in the air
· (16) Hamstring roll-ins on the ball (lie down on back, place heels on the ball, roll ball in to your butt, digging your heels in)
· (16 per leg) Hamstring roll-ins on the ball, one leg in the air
· (32 per leg) Hip lifts with ball, one leg crossed over other or one leg in the air (lie down on back, place calf on the ball, raise hips in the air)
· (32) Bridge butt raises (lie on floor with knees bent, raise butt in the air)
· (16) Tibialis anterior toe pulls with stability ball (sit on floor, legs straight, place ball on toes, place both hands on ball, straighten toes so that ball comes toward you, but push back with your hands to provide resistance) Don't do this one if the resistance is too much.
Most important- really, really squeeze the muscle that you are working. Don't worry about making big movements, keep them small and tight, but really hit the sweet spot of each muscle. Feel free to break up each set into smaller sets (e.g. for 32 reps, break them into two sets of 16 reps). Try to avoid taking rests between exercises as much as possible. This is a more intense endurance workout than you might think, especially since I have stacked many of the muscle groups together, so there is very little rest between exercises for a particular muscle and you will be feeling it earlier than you might think. After a few weeks, maybe you could add small, 1lb ankle weights and work up from there.
End Morningstar rotation.
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