It was a bit dispiriting to find out how much work I had to do on that too. The exercises in the first weeks ranged through quad tightening, terminal knee extensions, calf stretches to leg lifts, wall squats, leg shuttles and stationary bike work. I found that getting the physiotherapist to show me a range of exercises which I could choose some different ones from helped prevent me from getting too bored with the same sets. Once I was able to ride my bicycle on the road again, the quad strength became less of a problem. Initially I experienced some pain in the knee and had to be very careful about high-stress cycling, such as riding out of the saddle, and avoided stationary holds or other tricks.
Cycling is a good low-impact activity for rehabilitation.
The final phase of the recovery was the closed-chain exercises, which are designed to provide feedback through the leg to the knee. These exercises were the turning and cutting motions that are stressful to the knee. I didn't think I had any problems with them until I tried to go running one day. In the first few steps, I found out how little impact my knee could really tolerate. Fortunately, my tolerance for impact has increased a lot, and I now sometimes run as part of my exercise programme.