Breast augmentation enables women to correct uneven breasts, increase their size, or improve their appearance. After the surgery has been done, patients feel as if they have a newfound confidence that they can’t wait to show the world. They may be impatient to show off their new perfectly-fitting dress for an upcoming event, their bikini for a day at the beach, or perhaps even try out some new lingerie fittings.
Some patients also feel that they want to maintain this appearance by working out either at the gym or at home. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to engage in extremely physical exercises or anything while you’re recovering from your surgery. Then again, it also doesn’t mean that you can’t engage in any form of exercise at all. We’re just saying you need to take things slowly and carefully as you recover.
The recovery period for breast augmentation surgery is relatively short, which is about two to six weeks max. Even still, you have to take extra care of yourself while you heal and avoid partaking in any exercise or activities that are very physical to the point that it could cause injury to your new breasts. Fortunately, we put together a handy guide to ensure your recovery goes swimmingly while maintaining your beautiful figure at the same time. This guide will prove invaluable after you’ve completed breast augmentation in Calgary or other North American cities where it’s common.
So without further ado, here are some of the best ways to work out after breast augmentation.
How To Exercise While You’re Recovering
In the first two weeks of your recovery, the best thing that you should do is allow your body to relax and heal from your breast augmentation surgery. But this doesn’t necessarily mean bed rest. If you recall, we did say to take things slowly and by that, we mean engaging in light activities such as doing stretches, or taking short, frequent walks.
If you sit around in one spot for too long, the blood flow in your body will be slower and can even cause it to pool. If this ever happens, it could put you at a greater risk for blood clots like pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis. That’s why to reduce your risk, the surgeons usually recommend their patients to get up and gently move around whenever they’re able to during the first two weeks of their recovery. With this practice, the patients will be able to speed up their healing process as the blood carries essential immune cells and nutrients to the breast region.
You need to be especially careful with the mobility of your arms in the following week or two after the surgery. The physicians will ask you to move your arms in a complete range of motion. What’s more, you need to be careful when doing regular activities, such as reaching for a cup of tea, washing your hair, or even brushing it. Let comfort be at the back of your mind.
You shouldn’t try lifting anything heavier than 10 lbs. This means that there shouldn’t be any heavy pulling or even pushing of objects like car doors, weight training, or even heavier-than-usual purses. Doing so would put immense stress on your pectoral muscles. It also means that you should avoid weight lifting exercises that have anything to do with the back and especially the chest area. Besides that, patients must avoid doing pull-ups, push-ups, as well as particular yoga poses and pilate moves that focused largely on balancing the weight of the body with arms, swinging a tennis racket or a golf club, and using certain workout equipment like an elliptical trainer that comes with arm attachments.
Your doctor will prescribe you pain medication, but you shouldn’t overdo it, especially during the first two weeks after surgery. If you don’t heed those warnings, your body will be liable to further complications like bleeding around the surgical area. The least you can do is ensure your arms are put into a complete range of motion so that you don’t experience any shoulder stiffness. You need to converse with your plastic surgeon at every follow-up appointment so you know what sort of activities you can engage in and whether you can take it up a notch like doing some heavy lifting or some cardio.
Get a Trainer
Even if you’ve been to the gym on and off, it would do you a world of good if you get yourself a trainer who has legitimate experience helping breast surgery patients get back into shape after their operation. With a true experienced and reliable trainer at your side, you’re sure to get the proper post-operative exercise sessions without messing up the cosmetic results that you’ve wanted for so long.
You may have noticed that your center of gravity, core strength and balance are different than before your chest weighed an extra ¾ of a pound. If this is something that you’re not acclimated to, it would be best to acquire the services of a seasoned, experienced trainer who can properly help you get around those adversaries, especially if you ever want to get back into proper shape again.
What To Do After 4 Weeks
After 4 weeks following your surgery, plastic surgeons recommend lower body exercise. Virtually any kind of leg exercise is fine, including leg presses, squats (without the weights), and lunges. You can also perform light to moderate cardio, like stationary cycling, walking, and elliptical, (without the arms). Focus mainly on no-bouncing motions like jumping or running.
After four weeks, the doctor will examine the progress of their patients. And if everything is progressing as it should, then the patients may slowly be recommended to do arm exercises along with chest exercises.
What To Do After 6 Weeks
After six weeks (which is when patients are expected to fully recover after surgery), patients are able to resume their normal workout routine. The patients may find that they’re able to do the same type of exercises that they did before they underwent surgery, only at a slightly lower intensity. If you feel that any of your regular exercises are too straining for you, then it’s okay to take it easy. But then again, you should only perform such exercises if and when your regular doctor and plastic surgeon has given you the okay.