Rebuilding quad strength after knee surgery

I imagine swimming would be good. No impact, more of a resistance type exercise along with cardio.

Let it heal. You sound like myself, a classic over achiever. Go do the Physical Therapy, do some stretching on your own. Don't go doing more damage to it, before you've given it time to fully recover. Sorry, but none of us are million dollar a year athletes, that have to push to get back to our contractual obligations.

That said, you're on the right track about strengthening the muscle around the knee. One of the reasons I'm a staunch believer in resistance training, stronger muscles hold the joint better. Plus, repeated stress strengthens bone density, ligaments, tendons; makes you tougher.

My dad was a marathon runner for the last 30 years and recently had a knee replaced ,no more running for him. He was saying the first step is to regain mobility ,he has a protractor gizmo that measures how much he can bend it. He walks alot now . We actually went for a hike in the woods on steep hills and uneven ground about 5 weeks after surgery ,all the stabilizers were already doing their job rather well. He's 69 years old so it's probably going to take him a smidge longer then someone younger.

Get to a PT that will safely get back your range of motion. After that it is just a lot of quad exercises you can find on Youtube. I felt like I did a ton on modified squats, lunges, lifts and such after knee replacement. If you are going to PT, find a place that focuses on athletes and sports. That is the difference between getting a good base and having someone just getting you to where you can get off the shitter. Bicycle riding is always good.

Start with stationary bicycle... get that blood flowing...

Hindu squats.

I’ve had 7 knee surgeries on one leg with a total knee replacement 2 years ago. For me regaining range of motion has always been the most important and difficult to achieve. Cycling and low resistance weight training is normally the foundation of the PT. Hope it all turns out perfect for you.

Cycling or swimming, get the blood flowing through the body and promote recovery. When you feel up to it, bodyweight squats, then add light weights when you're ready to start pushing. Don't overdo it though! If you've got access to a gym with the hip abductor/adductor machine, that is great also.