Session 1 — Thursday 30 April 2026

Phase: Rehab / movement screen
Goal: Baseline screen, identify knee and diastasis limits, establish starting loads
Duration: 60–75 min
Stop if: Knee pain > 3/10, any sharp or locking sensation, diastasis doming/coning, or breathing distress

Warm-up — 10 min

Exercise	Sets × Reps	Notes	Done
Diaphragmatic breathing	1 × 10 breaths	Lying on back, knees bent. Breathe into belly and sides — not chest. Sets the tone for diastasis work.	[ ]
Cat-cow	1 × 10	Slow, full range. Note any stiffness.	[ ]
Hip 90/90 switch	1 × 10 each side	Sit on floor, both legs at 90°. Rotate side to side. Note any hip restriction.	[ ]
Calf raise (bilateral, slow)	1 × 15	Bodyweight only. On a step if available. Assess calf/ankle stiffness.	[ ]

Block 1 — Glute & hip screen (20 min)

Purpose: find out where the weak links are in the chain driving the knee tracking issue.

Exercise	Sets × Reps	Load	Cues	Done
Glute bridge	2 × 10	Bodyweight	Feet hip-width, drive through heels. Note if one glute fires less. Pause 2 sec at top.	[ ]
Clamshell	2 × 12 each side	Light band or bodyweight	Side-lying, feet together. Rotate top knee up without rolling the pelvis back. Note asymmetry.	[ ]
Side-lying hip abduction	2 × 12 each side	Bodyweight	Straight top leg, slight forward lean of the foot. No hip hike.	[ ]
Standing hip hinge (RDL pattern)	2 × 8	Bodyweight only	Feet hip-width, soft knee, hinge at hip until mild hamstring pull. No rounding of lower back. Stop here — assess knee comfort.	[ ]

After this block, rate right knee: __ / 10

Block 2 — Knee load screen (15 min)

Only proceed if knee ≤ 3/10 after Block 1. If above, skip to Block 3.

Exercise	Sets × Reps	Load	Cues	Done
Wall sit	2 × 20 sec	Bodyweight	Back flat against wall, thighs parallel or above parallel. Stop if pain increases during the hold.	[ ]
Step-up (low box / first step)	2 × 8 each leg	Bodyweight	Lead with right leg first. Drive through the heel. Observe knee tracking over toes.	[ ]
Slow bodyweight squat	2 × 8	Bodyweight	Feet shoulder-width, toes slightly out. Descend to comfortable depth only — do not chase depth. Note where knee pain starts (if at all).	[ ]

After this block, rate right knee: __ / 10

Block 3 — Diastasis baseline (10 min)

Self-check before any loaded core work. This is assessment, not training.

Check	What to do	What to note	Done
Lying heel slide	On back, slowly slide one heel along floor. Note any doming or coning at midline.	Present / absent. Which side worse.	[ ]
Dead bug (single arm only)	On back, extend one arm overhead slowly. Does midline bulge?	Present / absent.	[ ]
Calf raise breathing	Standing. Exhale and rise onto toes. Any downward pressure felt?	Present / absent.	[ ]

Note: Do not progress to loaded core work until diastasis status is clearer. Log observations carefully for the physio.

Cool-down — 10 min

Exercise	Duration	Notes	Done
Supine figure-4 stretch	60 sec each side	Glute / hip external rotator. Gentle — no forcing range.	[ ]
Prone hip flexor stretch	60 sec each side	Half-kneeling if supine is uncomfortable.	[ ]
Seated hamstring stretch	60 sec each side	Slight forward lean only — no rounding of back.	[ ]
Diaphragmatic breathing	5 slow breaths	Same as warm-up. End where you started.	[ ]

Session log

(Fill in after the session)

Field	Value
Date	2026-04-30
Exercises completed
Any skipped / modified
RPE (1–10)
Right knee during (0–10)
Right knee 24h after (0–10)
Diastasis observations
Notes / next time

What to carry forward

After this session, update the placeholder fields in CLAUDE.md:

Diastasis: severity, known aggravators, cleared movements
Knee: anything new observed about the pattern
Programming preferences: did the fully-prescribed format work?

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