Hi guys,

Thanks for everyone's support after my recent surgery. It's great to now be back at the club and starting my rehab program, so I hope you enjoy my blog this week.

Sunday
I landed back in Melbourne on Sunday night after a 2 week break at home in WA. While I was at home I continued exercises and strength programs with my calves to begin my rehab after the operation I had about a month ago to fix the compartment syndrome I had.

Monday
I arrived at the club at 9am and was checked out by the physio and doctor who were both happy with how I was travelling after the operation.

Around 10am I started some light running for the first time, which involved intervals of jog/walk, so Paul Montgomery (Exercise Scientist) and David Misson (Elite Performance Manager) could then work out my training program for my recovery. After running I went in and did weights with Rob Jackson which consisted of light leg weights to ease me back into it.

Following my running and weights session I went into the ice baths for 20mins. They are really important in my recovery as it keeps the swelling down in my legs and helps me to keep running each second day.

After that I caught up with Paul Hudson to go through what I need to catch-up on with the team game plan.

Tuesday
I started the day on Tuesday with the physio’s getting a good rub on my calves; at the moment I do this every morning to assist with my recovery.

After that we had a bike and weights session with the group, so it was great to catch up with everyone as the other boys had Monday off.

Before lunch we had the review of the game against North Melbourne from last weekend.

Wednesday
On Wednesday I started my rehab program which involved 2 x 1 lap running and 1 x 2 laps running and 2 x 5mins jogs. It felt great to get back to doing some running and my calves felt really good throughout the session.

Following running I had light leg weights with Jacko and then went in the ice baths again.

In the afternoon I went and watched some mates who were playing in the U18 tournament at Etihad Stadium. It was great to see them play and brought back memories of when I played for WA last year.

Thursday
First thing in the morning we had skin folds and weight checks, which I was nervous about because I haven’t been able to do much training for the last month.

We then had upper body weights and a bike session as a group before a touch session in the basketball courts (luckily as it was raining outside, and even hailed for a couple of minutes).

We then had the opposition meeting before lunch so we could check out the Port Adelaide players before the game this weekend.

After lunch I did a video message for Diabetes Week (which is next week) to encourage people to get regular checks on their eyes - to check out www.diabetesweek.org.au for more information.

Friday
I had my running session again this morning to continue my rehab program. I did a very similar session to what I did on Wednesday, with the addition of one more 5min fartlek run.

After running I had lower body weights again before jumping into the ice baths.

The boys have main training this afternoon so I will watch them train before they head to Adelaide tomorrow.

Saturday
Tomorrow morning I am planning to come back to the club for another upper body weights session.

After that I am going to the Sandringham game with Paul Hudson and will get the opportunity to sit in the box with him and see what he looks for during the game. I asked him if I could do this to get a better knowledge of the game plan and the game in general.

And of course I will finish the weekend by watching the Saints game on Sunday afternoon; hopefully the boys can come away with a win at AAMI Stadium.

Thanks for reading - go Saints!

Jamie Cripps #35