A little nip here and a little tuck there. It marks the beginning of a new attitude about yourself and your health. Cosmetic surgery can enhance your appearance and self-confidence. At this time more than ever, many patients want to take their body and health to the next level.
But just how much exercise is safe after, say, undergoing breast implants or a facelift? And if you just had fat removed through liposuction, do you even need to exercise? After all, aren’t these procedures supposed to make it so that you don’t have to “work” at looking good?
The short answer is “no.”
For example, the fat you lost through liposuction should stay off permanently, but if you slack off on your habits and gain weight, the fat could accumulate in all areas of your body rather than disproportionately in the area where it was removed. New research suggests that the pounds will come right back for those who do not change their lifestyle. In a survey of 600 liposuction patients, those who didn’t improve their lifestyle were more likely to be unhappy with the results after just a year. Those who didn’t change their diet were three times more likely to regain their weight. Those who didn’t exercise were four times more likely to put back on the pounds. The study was led by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and was published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Many people assume that because liposuction permanently removes fat cells, it’s impossible to regain weight in the treated areas. This is only partially true. The body will find other areas to store the fat. Adults have a fixed number of fat cells, and liposuction removes some of these cells permanently. The remaining fat cells can grow bigger, especially if you do not exercise and maintain a healthy diet. This means problem spots can return. You can think of it as a room filled with 1,000 balloons, and you are removing 800 of them. The remaining 200 can be filled with additional air. This will fill more of the room but will never fill the room entirely.
Exercise also is a vehicle to aid recovery after a procedure. How quickly a person bounces back from cosmetic surgery largely depends on how healthy they were going in. My feeling is that before the procedure you should be at the body-fat level you can maintain without undue problems. The suctioned areas are brought into balance with the rest of the body. You should already be at the diet and exercise level that you can perform long term.
Healing is a gradual process. Your surgeon will probably tell you to start walking as soon as possible to reduce swelling and to help prevent blood clots from forming in your legs.
Patients are given strict instructions by their doctors on when to return to an exercise regimen – usually four to six weeks after a facelift, and at least 6 to 8 weeks after any type of body surgery, such as breast augmentation or liposuction. Make sure you have discussed with your doctor your plans for using a health club and explain your workout routine. You do want to get permission to do so.
Once you’re exercising again – or starting for the first time – then it’s best to build up slowly. Returning to exercise should be taken into consideration on a patient-by-patient basis. Please talk with your doctor and check with a qualified fitness professional for recommendations.
Patients have individual post-operative restrictions based on how experienced they are with exercise. However, your plastic surgeon might direct you toward some sorts of exercises and away from others, depending on which parts of your body were treated. If you incorporated weight training as part of your exercise routine, you will preserve your muscle mass.
Though it depends on the type of surgery and its success rate, usually the stronger and fitter you are, the more quickly you will recover. Some of my clients who had liposuction were able to return to their regular exercise in five to six weeks. Since our clients are maintaining lean muscle and their metabolisms are elevated, their downtime is not as bad as someone who has never strength trained.
During the first week of exercise, don’t do anything that would raise the blood pressure. This will avoid additional swelling and bruising. No matter my client’s fitness level, and depending on where they had the procedure done, I avoid using any isolated exercises that target that specific area. If you had lipo on the abdominal area, consider waiting three to six weeks before targeting those specific muscle groups. Same would go for inner thighs, buttocks and hips. I would recommend not overloading any muscles with heavy weights.
I usually start post-procedure patients on light resistance training, two to three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions with super-slow execution of that movement, to avoid ballistic movements, after three weeks. After six weeks, they usually are back to full pre-operative activities.
Activity after breast implants depends on whether the implants were placed above or below the pectoral muscle. I start my patients on low-impact aerobic activity after three weeks. If the implant is above the muscle, light resistance training can be started at four weeks. If below, I wait six weeks. It is progressed slowly to get back to pre-op levels at 12 weeks.
While exercising, your goal is to gradually increase your range of motion. At first, after surgery, these exercises may seem stiff and uncomfortable, but as you repeat them day after day, they will become easier. You will be able to tolerate more weights.
Only when you have been cleared by your doctor, you feel 100 percent and there is no post-surgery pain, discomfort, numbness or swelling, would I recommend a slight increase in resistance training to strengthen the muscles and start isolating the muscles in the area where you had the surgery. My recommendation: get assessed by the doctor, make sure he approves the weight training and schedule some sessions with a fitness professional who has experience in working with clients who have had cosmetic procedures.
About the Author: Glenn Greer is a personal trainer and member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and The American Council on Exercise. He is co-owner of 30 In A Hurry Fitness, a private training facility in Coral Gables, Fla.
Source: Coral Living
