The exercises that helped me.......

The second anniversary of my injury was April 2013 & I've noticed that I started to make significant progress following my hydrotherapy sessions in June 2012 & then the gym sessions that followed on in July/August 2012. I now go to the gym quite religiously, I aim for 2-3 good sessions per week. Of course 3-4 would be better but it's a busy life :-)
So I thought what might be useful is if I shared my progression through the exercises at the gym which have helped me to be able to ski, walk at varied paces (even a jog if I need to move quickly), cycle & actually enjoy a 4-5 mile walk.
When I first began at the gym in earnest, the aim was to try to correct my limp, improve my posture, increase my leg strength & the amount of time that I could stand bearing my own weight for. I'd always begin with a gentle warm up on an exercise bike, about 15 mins at resistance 3-4 & aiming for about 70-75 RPM. After this I had a series of exercises & mobility drills that I'd perform;

This step equipment is great. I started just stepping up onto it & back down with alternate leading legs. I began with 2 spacers + bench top & about 2 repetitions of 10 on each leg. I also used this equipment for the sit squats that I began with. I used to do add 3 more spacers to make it a comfortable sitting height & stand & lower myself back down, trying to keep it controlled. I'd aim for 2 repetitions of 10 of these after the step ups. 

After those it would be time for ankle & foot flexions & extensions. I always performed the same amount on each. I started doing them sitting down but after a while when I was strong enough I'd try to stand supporting myself until I could balance unsupported. It was gradual, but I achieved it.

I'd aim for 10 of each of the above on each ankle/foot. I'd also rotate each ankle slowly through 360 degrees in each direction 5 times.

Then it was off to the cross trainer, I began with only 5 minutes at a low resistance with a cool down period afterwards. After that was the hyper extensions below;

These exercises/drills were pretty much my core routine for the first 3 months & they definitely helped my mobility. It was difficult & cumbersome at first but I improved with persistence. When I felt ready, I'd simply up the resistance on the exercise bike & increase the warm up, I upped the resistance on the cross trainer as well, but not too soon as this apparatus really did work the foot thoroughly. The sit squats progresses to a standing squat by gradually lowering the bench by removing the spacers & the step ups increased by raising the height/adding spacers. I did do this with a trainer & I think it is important to seek expert advice when you begin your rehabilitative training so that you safely target the areas that you need to without causing any further damage !

After 3 months I had a review with my trainer & he increased the intensity a little in line with my target achievement which was to be able to ski in February. By this time my limp had started to improve along with my general gait & walking pace. I was also much more comfortable in my day to day routines, the need for anti inflammatory  medication decreased, all very positive improvements ! So I increased the hyper extensions by holding a 5kg weight & increasing the repetitions. the sitting squats became just standard squats, no seat & an increased repetition again. I began dead lifts with a 16KG weight. I also introduced reverse lunges.

Again I can increase the difficulty of these by adding weights. I am stronger on the cross trainer these days, I often complete 1 1/2 miles in about 13 minutes at a resistance level of 4, I've even added in some time on the rowing machine. With this equipment I aim for resistance rather pace or distance, this is to hopefully tone up my torso a little as well as helping my knees. I still include some ankle mobility & foot extension work although I rarely suffer with any stiffness in this area now. I can't emphasise enough how much a routine similar to mine will help in recovery from a Lisfranc injury or something similar. I say this because a year ago it was unthinkable to me that I'd even be able to walk a mile without pain, let alone ski & I did just 10 months later ! Oh it's not me in the reverse lunge pic by the way, just an image from the internet of someone looking great & performing the exercise perfectly :-)