Healed and feel great - okay to hit gym sooner?

[gynoteen079]

Hey there,

I know there are a lot of threads about working out and leaving it till 4-6 weeks and easing into it, but I feel i am ready to go sooner.

I am 3 weeks post op, i have minimal swelling and bruising, even from the start. I can lift my hands over my head without pain, and i'v been doing arm/leg/ab workouts since post op week 2 with absolutely no discomfort. Since I seem to have healed great is it okay to go back to chest/shoulder exercises now, providing it doesn't cause any considerable pain? I do feel a bit of tightness in my chest when stretching it, but its something that i can easily work through, however my main scare is opening something up in my chest before its healed or something. Is this much of a concern at week 3?

Thanks

[jay adams]

I know it's hard but I'd wait 6/8 weeks for weights. I started doing cardio and legs at 3 weeks. I lifted upper body but I did swell up in the chest so I made myself wait.

Your call. Talk to your doc. That's the best thing you can do besides being a little patient.

[N8712]

Hey there,

I know there are a lot of threads about working out and leaving it till 4-6 weeks and easing into it, but I feel i am ready to go sooner.

I am 3 weeks post op, i have minimal swelling and bruising, even from the start. I can lift my hands over my head without pain, and i'v been doing arm/leg/ab workouts since post op week 2 with absolutely no discomfort. Since I seem to have healed great is it okay to go back to chest/shoulder exercises now, providing it doesn't cause any considerable pain? I do feel a bit of tightness in my chest when stretching it, but its something that i can easily work through, however my main scare is opening something up in my chest before its healed or something. Is this much of a concern at week 3?

Thanks

I am currently 3 days away from being 10 weeks post op and I hit the gym 3 weeks after surgery. I started off VERY light though and didn't go heavy with the weight and increased reps.

I'm assuming these are small incisions just under the nipples and possibly incisions under the armpits? If the incisions look healed then it's HIGHLY unlikely they will tear open at 3 weeks post op.

You're entering the stage now where you should be wearing your compression vest for 12 hours a day instead of 24/7 as per the first two weeks.

Getting back in the gym actually helped me heal as it got my body moving again and increased my circulation. The worst thing you can do is live a sedentary lifestyle after surgery, with the exception of the first two weeks.

Bottom line and my personal advice is get back in the gym, do more reps and lower weights for 1-2 weeks then gradually increase it.

[rhyno18]

Agree with Jay.  Talk to you doctor and do what they recommend.  Doctors use different procedures and have a record on how their patients typically recover.  It would be pretty shortsighted, if not stupid, to take the advice of somebody on the Internet over your treating physician.

Worst case you wait a few extra weeks.