5 and a Half Weeks Post Op - Weight Lifting

[mranon]

Hi I am now 5 and a half weeks out of surgery and happy with my results so far.

After reading through the boards and getting some advice, I decided to try lifting with some light weights.

I found that a lot of exercises caused some discomfort and minor pain in my chest, mainly under the areola around where the scar is. As a test, I tried some light dumbell lateral raises, some light dumbell overhead presses, and a few chin ups, all of which caused discomfort.

Many people say that they were able to begin weight training just 3 weeks after surgery. I understand that everyone's body is different, and everyone's surgery is different. However I just wanted to ask if I should continue to slowly adapt back into weight training at this time or if I should wait until I feel no discomfort at all. Can getting back into weights encourage the healing process and eliminate the pain? Or will it damage the area and slow the healing process?

Thank you for any information.

[nipplevision]

I'm also interested in hearing a reply to your question.
Am almost 5 weeks post op, and eager to lift weights again.
My post op consultation is only in week 7 so I need to be patient...

grtz

[MEND1]

Hi Guys,

I'm a personal trainer on the east coast (and also recently had gyno surgery), try to give you some basic feed back. Keep in mind physiological principals apply across the board, but there is no cookie cutter approach. Variables differ from case to case, which means programs may need to be tweaked on a case to case basis.

Currently 24 days post op, tonight was lift number one (Chest/Biceps/Triceps). I didn't have any pain, but swelling still persists from surgery.

>Pain Free Range Of Motion: Any post op scenario lends itself to scar tissue formation, regularly taking said musculature through it's natural range of motion is important. Take an intelligent progression: Moderate to mild stretching after adequate warm up. Continue to increase intensity of stretch, until full range of motion has been regained. I've been doing this from week one, which I believe prepared me for tonights lift.

>Keep You Lifts On A Controlled Plane Of Movement: It's my humble opinion, that transitioning back to a exercise regimen should be done conservatively. Don't leave room for error. Free weight movements give you the biggest return on your muscle investment, but they are also the most dangerous. Stick w/ a plate loaded apparatus or selectarise piece, such as a hammer strength, smith machine, or nautilus piece. These will allow you to focus on the prime mover (chest), with out engaging to many stabilizer muscles. You can focus on the correct range of motion, without the danger of getting hurt.

>Don't Try To Be A Hero: Stay light, don't go to heavy. I've been doing this a long time, typically bench around 500 (life time drug free). Tonight, I started with 200 pounds on a selectarise flat bench. Healthy, thats lighter then what I use to warm up....moral of the story, put that ego away and pick your weights wisely.

Stimulate Don't Annihilate: The goal right now is to force the chest through it's full range of motion, while promoting a massive pump. As new blood flushes out the traumatized area, enhanced healing will take place. Make sure to take the exercise through a complete concentric (negative) motion, followed by a controlled eccentric motion. End each rep w/ a strong contraction, flex the heck out of that muscle.

Feed The Machine: Reasearch tells us, post workout protein intake is crucial. Especially important for guys who just underwent corrective surgery. Post workout, your body opens a one hour window where it will absorb nutrients very efficiently. It needs it, and will respond based on how well you routinly adhere to this nutritional strategy. Furthermore, you need to ingest a highly bio-available form of protein. Protein that will be absorbed in 30 minutes or less (whole food won't due, digestion rate at best is 1 -2 hours). Use a quality liquid protein supplement, preferably hydrolyzed whey protein (scientifically the most readily absorbable form of protein available). Check out the company BNRG, we sell allot of their products at our facility.....good stuff. Beverly International is another good company. Stay away from the crap advertised in muscle magazines.....take it for what it's worth. I would also suggest downing multiple shakes a day, damaged tissue needs protein to repair. Rough parameters: 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, every day.

Adhere To The Same Guidelines When Doing Other Body Parts: Nuff said.......questions?

Good luck fellas.

[nipplevision]

Very interesting post!
Makes me want to work out even more.
I'm picking up my training regime August 31st (gyno removal was July 8th)...

Currently I'm 99.9% pain free so I feel my body is ready for weight training again.
However, I'm going to work out at home where I don't have machines, only free weights. Guess I'll just need to be patient and careful in the beginning. And you used to benchpress 500 pounds? that's impressive
My personal best was 340 (155 in kilos).

Anyway thanks for your advice. And good luck with your training goals.

grtz

[mranon]

MEND1:

Thanks for the great post man! Sounds like you really know your stuff. Oh and 500 natural on the bench is heroic! Definitely a goal I will work towards over the years.

Since my initial post in this thread, I started to massage the tissue deeper and really focus on the scar tissue. This really helped my range of motion without pain. Today I decided it was time to try weights again, so I did some light and moderately heavy (not too heavy) deadlifts. Everything felt great. My strength was actually a lot better than I had anticipated after being off for 6 weeks. Best of all, no chest discomfort at all.

Tomorrow is chest day, so I will definitely utilize your tips when working out.

Thanks!

[MEND1]

Glad to help

Grtz, you may want to start w/ body weight exercises since your lifting at home (i.e. push-up, pull up, lunges, etc...). Those movement patterns involve less moving parts then barbell or dumbell work. I'm only talking a week or two, especially since your an experienced lifter...340lbs...very nice.

Mranon, glad your feeling better. Keep after it. Massage is pretty effective, considering that myself.

Few side notes: Interval cardio work has been shown to flush the system nicely, promoting aerobic conditioning. Hence your body's proficiency to heal.
Goal: Fluctuate your heart rate between 50%-85% of your max target heart rate (220 - age x .5 = 50% MHR)(220 - age x .85 = 85% MHR)
Example: Hop on a a cardio piece, sprint like heck for 20 seconds. Rest for 40 seconds (rest is always double the sprint). Any aerobic activity will due, just manage the sprint to rest period proportionately. This should be done after a lift, or on a day with no other activity (after a lift will especially promote the metabolizing of body fat).

Take care

[legalman]

what about returning to cardio (running) after an extensive excision+lipo surgery? should you wear extra compression in addition to the post-surgical vest? what is an appropriate amount of time to wait? what are the risks associated with returning to daily runs around the third week following surgery?

[MEND1]

I think you may want to stay clear of any activity that will jar the chest. In terms of cardio, something like a stairmaster works well. If you don't have access to this type of equipment, you may want to consider some type of anaerobic circuit training. Pick 10-15 strength training exercises (body weight if necessary), and preform them back to back without rest for 20-30 minutes. Take 1 minute rest every time you cycle through. Like I mentioned before, you have invested time and money in order to have this procedure done. Might as well take all the necessary precautions, as you transition back to your favorite activities.

[Death to Man Boobs]

Hi Guys,

I'm a personal trainer on the east coast (and also recently had gyno surgery), try to give you some basic feed back. Keep in mind physiological principals apply across the board, but there is no cookie cutter approach. Variables differ from case to case, which means programs may need to be tweaked on a case to case basis.

Currently 24 days post op, tonight was lift number one (Chest/Biceps/Triceps). I didn't have any pain, but swelling still persists from surgery.

>Pain Free Range Of Motion: Any post op scenario lends itself to scar tissue formation, regularly taking said musculature through it's natural range of motion is important. Take an intelligent progression: Moderate to mild stretching after adequate warm up. Continue to increase intensity of stretch, until full range of motion has been regained. I've been doing this from week one, which I believe prepared me for tonights lift.

>Keep You Lifts On A Controlled Plane Of Movement: It's my humble opinion, that transitioning back to a exercise regimen should be done conservatively. Don't leave room for error. Free weight movements give you the biggest return on your muscle investment, but they are also the most dangerous. Stick w/ a plate loaded apparatus or selectarise piece, such as a hammer strength, smith machine, or nautilus piece. These will allow you to focus on the prime mover (chest), with out engaging to many stabilizer muscles. You can focus on the correct range of motion, without the danger of getting hurt.

>Don't Try To Be A Hero: Stay light, don't go to heavy. I've been doing this a long time, typically bench around 500 (life time drug free). Tonight, I started with 200 pounds on a selectarise flat bench. Healthy, thats lighter then what I use to warm up....moral of the story, put that ego away and pick your weights wisely.

Stimulate Don't Annihilate: The goal right now is to force the chest through it's full range of motion, while promoting a massive pump. As new blood flushes out the traumatized area, enhanced healing will take place. Make sure to take the exercise through a complete concentric (negative) motion, followed by a controlled eccentric motion. End each rep w/ a strong contraction, flex the heck out of that muscle.

Feed The Machine: Reasearch tells us, post workout protein intake is crucial. Especially important for guys who just underwent corrective surgery. Post workout, your body opens a one hour window where it will absorb nutrients very efficiently. It needs it, and will respond based on how well you routinly adhere to this nutritional strategy. Furthermore, you need to ingest a highly bio-available form of protein. Protein that will be absorbed in 30 minutes or less (whole food won't due, digestion rate at best is 1 -2 hours). Use a quality liquid protein supplement, preferably hydrolyzed whey protein (scientifically the most readily absorbable form of protein available). Check out the company BNRG, we sell allot of their products at our facility.....good stuff. Beverly International is another good company. Stay away from the crap advertised in muscle magazines.....take it for what it's worth. I would also suggest downing multiple shakes a day, damaged tissue needs protein to repair. Rough parameters: 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, every day.

Adhere To The Same Guidelines When Doing Other Body Parts: Nuff said.......questions?

Good luck fellas.

great post..thanks for the advice

[regularguy]

i returned to training after 10 days post op. after that i got real tired due to me going straight back to work after 2 days. went back to the gym 8 weeks post op and felt much better. i needed the rest. we are all different so workout when it's comfortable enough for you. ;-)