The ACL Rehab Guy (2026)

29/01/2026

“You’ll never be the same after an ACL tear.

Yeah… we’ve heard that one too 👀

But guess what?

That mindset is outdated.

You don’t have to just “live with it.” You can rebuild, reload, and return stronger 💪
⠀
Let’s talk real rehab:
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1️⃣ You’ve finished physio, but your leg still doesn’t feel right: weaker, unstable, not game-ready.

2️⃣ Confidence is low. You second-guess every cut, jump, or change of direction.

3️⃣ You’re stuck in limbo, cleared to return but scared you’ll re-injure it… again.

👉 And here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Some of you know you need help.
You’ve seen what specialist rehab can do.
But you’re not prioritising it.

You’re hoping it’ll just get better with time.
Kicking the can down the road.
And meanwhile… it’s been 1, 2, maybe even 3 years.

That’s not patience.
That’s avoidance.

What you actually need
⠀
✅ Targeted strength & power training: your ACL leg doesn’t just need healing, athleticism needs to be rebuilt.
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✅ Movement retraining & return-to-play testing: research-backed metrics + sport-specific guidance rebuild trust, not hope.
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✅ A structured, progressive plan: not random workouts or “just get stronger.” You need strategy, not guesswork.
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💥 The goal isn’t just to jog or walk pain-free.
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It’s to cut hard, jump high, land strong, and trust your body again.
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Stop living life at 20% capacity.
Stop playing smaller than the athlete you still are.
Get back to the sport you love properly.
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You’re not broken.
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You’re rebuilding.
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And with the right roadmap, you don’t just return — you reclaim.
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Don’t settle for survival.
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Train for performance.
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Ready to prove the doubters (and maybe yourself) wrong?
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Comment “KNEE” below and I’ll send you our free ACL rehab guide today — because your future active life deserves more than guesswork.

27/01/2026

Comment “MAP” for my Free ACL Return To Sport Benchmarks Training ⬇️

26/01/2026

The first 9 weeks after ACL surgery are brutal

Not because you’re back on the pitch or in the cage, but because you feel lost.

👉 How hard should I push?

👉 When should I back off?

👉 Am I doing enough, or too much?

Most people either:

❌ Overdo it → swelling, flare-ups, constant setbacks

❌ Or play it too safe → lose loads of muscle, progress stalls, and confidence tanks

This is where the real battle is fought. It’s not sexy. It’s not Instagram highlight reels. It’s boring graft, done right.

Here’s what actually matters in this phase:

Swelling → get this under control early or everything else is compromised

Extension + gait → lock them in until they’re automatic

Quads → hit them early (leg extension is gold if you dose it properly)

Nutrition → hit your protein targets (1.6–2g per kg bodyweight daily) to limit muscle loss

Feedback loops → use the traffic light system: green = go, amber = monitor, red = stop

Shout out to our client Yousef for showing exactly how it’s done. Disciplined, consistent, and setting himself up for a strong comeback to MMA.

This stage is the transition. Nail it, and the gym work and strength phase actually delivers.

Miss it, and you’re chasing deficits for months.

If you’re 0–12 weeks post-op and not sure what to do

I’ve put together a free post-op guide that covers exactly this.

Comment GAIT below and I’ll send it over now. ⬇️

25/01/2026

You don’t need to jump like this to ski again.

But your knee does need to be ready.

Most ACLers biggest worry is not falling over, it’s never trusting their knee to cope with the sport they love.

And the result, is quietly sitting out trips while friends and family head to the mountain.

That hesitation isn’t weakness.
It’s a capacity problem.

Here are the 3 things we’ve used to help 50+ ACL skiers return to the mountain with full confidence:

1️⃣ Testing (non-negotiable)
If you don’t know your quad strength scores or have clear return to ski benchmarks to aim for, you’re guessing.

That hesitation is your brain telling you’re not ready.
It doesn’t matter if it’s been 1, 2, 3 years since surgery, time means nothing without those scores showing you’re safe.

2️⃣ Structured strength and plyometrics(done properly)

• Open-chain quad work to rebuild true knee capacity
• Deceleration training to absorb force through turns and uneven snow
• Compound lifts for full-body resilience across long ski days

No random exercises. No “feel good” rehab.

3️⃣ Ankle strength (the missing link)

Weak ankles shift load into the knee.
Strong ankles reduce knee stress when conditions change.

So remember, you don’t need perfect knees to get back to the sport you love.

But you do need prepared ones.

👇
Comment QUADS for my free guide on exactly how we’ve helped 50+ ACL injured skiers rebuild full confidence and get back to the trips they love.

25/01/2026

“Will I ever trust my knee again?”

Comment “QUADS” for my exact quad rebuild guide. ⬇️

If you’ve been through an ACL injury, you know that question all too well.

It’s not just about the knee.

It’s about trust.

Trust in your body.

Trust in movement.

Trust that you’ll ever feel normal again.

You catch yourself hesitating on stairs.

You overthink every step at the gym.

You wonder if every twinge means something’s wrong.

And no one really understands how heavy that feels unless they’ve been there.

Rehab starts, and you’re doing your best.

You’re following the plan, showing up, doing the work.

But inside, there’s that quiet voice:

“Am I doing the right things?”

“How do I know I’m actually getting closer?”

Then one day, maybe months in, you try something that once scared you.

A single-leg hop.

A jog outside.

A small cut or landing.

And it feels okay.

That moment hits deep.

The relief. The hope.

The sense that maybe, just maybe, you’re actually coming back.

Because rebuilding confidence after an ACL injury isn’t just about the exercises.

It’s about rebuilding trust in yourself.

And to do that, you need a few key things.

A plan that meets you where you’re at.

One that find the right point for you to push, and the right time to pull back.

A support system that listens, and works with you, to overcome the hurdles, mental and physical.

And a team who understands the fears you don’t always say out loud

When you have that, the noise quiets.

The fear softens.
And movement starts to feel like you again.

If you want help rebuilding your confidence so you can live the life you love.

DM me “interested” to find out if we can help

23/01/2026

Kneecap pain in ACL rehab isn’t random, and it isn’t a sign you should stop training.

Comment “QUADS” for my free knee rebuild guide ⬇️

The evidence is clear:

👉 The most effective long-term solution for kneecap pain is a combination of quad and hip strengthening.

Strong quads matter. A lot.

But here’s the nuance most people miss 👇

Sometimes the kneecap needs a temporary break from direct stress before it can tolerate that quad loading again.

Research also shows:

👉 Hip strengthening alone can reduce kneecap pain
This is why de-loading the knee without stopping training often works.

What this looks like in practice:

• temporarily reduce high-stress quad work
• shift focus to hips & posterior chain
• let irritability settle
• then re-introduce quad loading in a controlled way

Not all quad exercises are equal.

Low kneecap-stress options to restart with:

– half-range leg extensions
– vertical-shin split squats
– controlled ranges, higher intent, lower irritation

The key rule:

Baseline + 1

Build a solid hip-dominant baseline.

Add one quad exercise.

Monitor symptoms for 24–48 hours.

If it settles → progress.
If it flares → step back.

No guessing. No piling stress on.

What doesn’t fix the problem:

• foam rolling
• massage guns
• icing every session

These may feel good briefly — they don’t change the load problem.

Long-term progress comes from:

• respecting knee irritability
• keeping quads in the plan — strategically
• progressing load with intent, not hope

If kneecap pain keeps stalling your rehab, it’s rarely effort that’s missing.

It’s strategy.

👇
Comment “QUADS” and I’ll send you a clear guide on how to rebuild quad strength without flaring kneecap pain.

21/01/2026

The hardest part of ACL rehab often isn’t the knee. It is what slowing down does to your mind.

We see this with our clients all the time.

People who are always on the go.

People who show up for their family, their partner, their team and themselves without hesitation.

People who are driven, responsible and used to pushing through anything.

So when injury suddenly forces you to slow down, it can feel uncomfortable in ways you did not expect.

It can make you worry that you are falling behind.

It can make you question your value when you are not constantly achieving.

It can make stillness feel almost wrong, even though your body is asking for it.

If this is you, you are not alone.

Here is what we remind our clients:

1. Your worth is not measured by productivity. You are not failing because you are healing. You are adapting to something difficult.

2. Slowing down is not a weakness. It is a critical part of recovery and it is often the hardest step for people who are used to pushing through everything.

3. This season can be an opportunity to take stock and reconnect with what actually matters. Your health. Your long-term wellbeing. Your physical and mental recovery.

And here is what can help:

1. Give yourself permission to rest without guilt. Your body will reward patience far more than pressure.

2. Focus on what you can control today. Small, consistent actions in rehab add up much more than trying to force progress.

3. Remember that this season will pass. Your strength, confidence and routine will return and you will come back better for having respected this process.

You are not falling behind.

You are healing.

Treat yourself with the same compassion you give everyone else. 💜

19/01/2026

The wrong ACL rehab plan can waste 6 months of your life, and you don’t realise it until it’s gone.

Comment “KNEE” for my free ACL strength guide ⬇️

You trust the process. You go to your sessions. You do your exercises.

But 3, 6, even 9 months down the line… your quad is still weak.

You still haven’t run. You’ve done zero vertical jump testing.

And suddenly you’re asking the question no one wants to face: “Have I wasted my recovery?”

This isn’t about blame. It’s about standards.

The wrong rehab plan doesn’t just delay your return to sport. It delays your return to self.

And that affects everything:

• Your confidence

• Your identity

• Your trust in your body

• Your mental wellbeing

You start to feel broken. Behind. Stuck in limbo between being injured and being free.

Because the truth is: rehab isn’t just about ticking boxes.

It’s about hitting outcomes. And if your physio isn’t holding you to those outcomes, you’re not progressing. You’re plateauing.

Here’s what every ACL rehab plan MUST include:

✅ 1. Progressive Strength Testing

You must test regularly. No guessing. Quads, hamstrings, calf, jump height, Reactive strength. You can’t improve what you’re not measuring. Your program should adapt to your numbers, not your vibes.

✅ 2. Return-to-Run and Jump Testing

Running and jumping must be earned. That means meeting objective standards for strength, control, and plyometric capacity. Then re-testing. If you’ve started jogging without testing, you’re rolling the dice.

✅ 3. Psychological and Physical Milestones

It’s not just about the knee, it’s about the person. You need to track confidence, fear, trust, and readiness alongside physical targets. That’s how you prevent re-injury and actually return to sport with freedom.

Too many athletes are stuck in slow, vague rehab with no structure, no feedback, and no plan.

If you’ve been doing rehab for months and still feel lost, it’s not your fault.

You probably weren’t given the system you needed.

Comment “KNEE” if you want to see what gold-standard ACL rehab actually looks like, and why it’s never too late to do this right.

18/01/2026

The first few weeks after ACL surgery are brutal.

You’re swollen, stiff, and frustrated.

You’re re-learning how to walk.

Every movement feels foreign. Every task takes 10x the effort.

You go from training like an athlete, to struggling to lift your leg off the bed.

And beneath all of that, the fear creeps in:

“What if I never get back?”

“What if this is permanent?”

“What if my best days are behind me?”

Because ACL injuries come with baggage.

You’ve heard the stories.

The ones where people never return to sport. The ones who suffer further injury. Who stall out. Who stay limited.

And when you’re stuck doing heel slides and quad sets, those stories feel like your reality.

But they don’t have to be.

We’ve seen something different, because we do things differently.

We’ve had so many athletes come back stronger than pre-injury.

Faster sprints. More force through the ground. Cleaner deceleration.

They return not just “cleared”, but confident, tested, and truly ready.

What’s the difference?

✅ Regular testing — quads, hamstrings, hops, symmetry

✅ Rehab progression that adapts to your actual numbers

✅ Strength programs designed for athletes, not checklists

✅ Clinical coaching that builds trust, accountability, and belief

✅ Transitions based on milestones, not guesswork or time

Early rehab feels slow. It feels like nothing is happening.

But it’s where everything starts.

The quiet work. The boring reps. The invisible effort.

That’s the foundation your comeback is built on.

And if you’re in it now, keep going.

You’re not stuck. You’re not broken. You’re just in the part that no one claps for.

Yet.

Get the right plan. Stick to the plan.

The stories you’ve heard don’t have to be yours.

If you’re in the early stages of your rehab journey, and struggling to work out what steps to take, I’ve put together a free ACL rehab guide that will show you exactly what we’ve done to help 200+ ACLers get back to what they love.

👇 Comment MAP for your free guide.

16/01/2026

Do you know what the most important thing in ACL recovery is?

It’s not running.
It’s not jumping.
It’s not “getting your confidence back”.

It’s your quads.

After surgery, your quads shut down fast.
They lose size.
They lose strength.
And for most people… they never fully come back.

Not because you’re lazy.
Not because you’re broken.
But because ACL rehab doesn’t teach you how to actually rebuild them.

So you end up:
• Hammering quad exercises that just irritate your knee
• Working hard but seeing minimal strength gains
• Doing more and more volume with less and less return

And this is the part no one tells you:

If your quads don’t return to the level your knee needs, everything else suffers.
• Running never feels right
• Jumping feels unstable
• Confidence stays fragile
• Re-test rates go up
• Long-term outcomes get worse

Most people think they’re “doing enough”.
They’re not.

Because unless you do very specific things, your quads will never rebuild to the level required for sport — no matter how long you train.

That’s why I filmed a brand-new training today breaking down:
• Why quads shut down after ACL surgery
• The biggest mistakes that stall progress
• How to rebuild real quad strength without extra gym time
• How to load your knee properly without flaring pain
• And how strong quads are what actually restore trust and confidence in your knee

If you want to:
✔ Pack muscle back onto your quads
✔ Get stronger without living in the gym
✔ Stop guessing if you’re doing enough
✔ And finally trust your knee again

👇
Comment QUADS and I’ll send it straight over.

15/01/2026

Feeling lost in ACL recovery is a common story

If you want to know exactly what to do accelerate your recovery comment “MAP” below and I’ll send you the details

The ACL Rehab Guy

29/01/2026

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