Losing muscle after top surgery

[lionheart]

I know you're not supposed to do any heavy lifting until a month or something like that after your surgery (don't remember the exact time frame, but that's not really the point), but I've been weight training for the past 6ish months and I'm really worried about losing all my progress. Has anyone who had top surgery experienced a significant loss in muscle during recovery? How can I prevent it?

[AnxietyDisord3r]

You'll lose some muscle but as someone who has deconditioned multiple times, I'd say you can safely stop for up to three months and not lose any significant strength (of course you have to ease back into it because you're post-operative now).

What you should do is keep up your cardiovascular strength by walking, hiking, hill or stair climb, anything that works lower body/abs without jerking your top around that gets your heart rate up. You need your heart to be conditioned to be able to lift what you did before.

[TransAm]

Unfortunately, you will lose muscle and a  bit of strength; it's just the nature of the beast as far as surgery/injuries are concerned.
The good news is that, thanks to muscle memory, you'll be able to get back to the point you're currently at much faster than you initially did. The  best bit of advice that I can give you is to continue eating as clean as possible--keep your protein consumption up, avoid too many fats to stave off weight gain--and do your best to let yourself heal without rushing back to the gym before you're ready. You'll just have to wait that much longer if you think you're up for something you're not and you pointlessly injure yourself.

Try and think of it this way: The amount of time you'll be out of the gym is so minuscule that it's meaningless in the long run. A couple months is a small price to pay for the freedom top surgery affords.

[FTMax]

You may have a bit of a setback, but it's very easy to get back to where you were. My job regularly requires me to lift around 175lbs multiple times in a row, 3-4 times per day. I didn't lift anything beyond 10lbs for the first 3-4 weeks post-op. I think it took me somewhere around 6-8 weeks to be able to comfortably lift the full 175 again, and it wasn't really so much that I felt weak but more than I was anxious about hurting myself.

[lionheart]

You'll lose some muscle but as someone who has deconditioned multiple times, I'd say you can safely stop for up to three months and not lose any significant strength (of course you have to ease back into it because you're post-operative now).

What you should do is keep up your cardiovascular strength by walking, hiking, hill or stair climb, anything that works lower body/abs without jerking your top around that gets your heart rate up. You need your heart to be conditioned to be able to lift what you did before.

Do you think leg exercises would be okay? I'd probably be wary of squats due to the added weight on the shoulders but would it be too much stress? I don't know if the problem is the force exerted by lifting weights in general or just to avoid stretching/reopening the incisions.

Also, semi-unrelated, but I'd like to avoid wearing regular shirts for a while to prevent stretching, but if I do go to the gym within the first couple of months I don't really know what I would wear. Button ups probably aren't a great idea, but my surgery is in the summer so wearing a hoodie might be uncomfortable. Any suggestions?

[AeroZeppelin92]

Just repeating what the others have said- you will definitely lose a little muscle, but don't fret too much. It'll come back fairly easily.
After my top surgery, I waited 8 weeks before I set foot in the gym again, and once I did get back in I primarily did light cardio and legs for the first couple weeks. I didn't start doing heavy chest/shoulder work for probably another month after that. As long as you wait the amount of time given by your surgeon, you will be fine. Just take it easy and be patient, you have the rest of your life to go to the gym, it's not going anywhere.

And as far as shirts, cut the sleeves off of some old shirts pretty low, they're easy to get in and out of. Keeps you cool too.

[AnxietyDisord3r]

You'll just have to wait that much longer if you think you're up for something you're not and you pointlessly injure yourself.

Quoted for truth. Can I hear it again?

You'll just have to wait that much longer if you think you're up for something you're not and you pointlessly injure yourself.

Btdt, ssdd. Do NOT destroy your hard work by going too far too fast. No pain, no gain means a minor discomfort or personal sacrifice, NOT tearing or popping sensations!

[AnxietyDisord3r]

I disagree with what others are saying (note, I am not a dietician or a doctor, just a former athlete and not an elite one), in that I believe you will lose very little muscle mass per se in 1.5 months UNLESS YOU STARVE YOURSELF. Then your body will consume your muscle mass. I agree with the advice to 'eat clean', although eating like you are training is incorrect, you don't need quite that many calories and you'll just bulk up on fat.

What happens is that you will be deconditioned. That's why it comes back so 'quick'. Because you don't have to regrow, just retrain and recondition. When you come back to lifting your muscles will not be storing enough glucose to be able to lift that much, but it only takes a couple of sessions for your muscles to be primed with glucose again. Also, your heart muscle is involved in lifting so make sure it's still in good shape while you're down.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to stay active every day and DON'T tear up your upper body. If that means having someone help you, so be it. I see it as training to deal with clients in my day job who are handicapped all the time, not just for a few weeks.

[AnxietyDisord3r]

Also, semi-unrelated, but I'd like to avoid wearing regular shirts for a while to prevent stretching, but if I do go to the gym within the first couple of months I don't really know what I would wear. Button ups probably aren't a great idea, but my surgery is in the summer so wearing a hoodie might be uncomfortable. Any suggestions?

My doctor said I could lift hands over my head 6 weeks post op. You should check with your doctor.

But if you must do button up, do you really frequent a gym where people are that judgey about street clothes? As a blue collar man, I've gone to the gym in work shirts (and the ubiquitous white undershirt) straight after work... I wear talcum powder to keep the odor down. It's okay as long as the shirt isn't too tight.

[FtMitch]

I haven't had top surgery, but I just had really bad pneumonia and thanks to injured lungs I can't work out for 6 weeks.  So far it's been 4 and I haven't lost any significant muscle at all (yay!).  This has made me feel soooo much better about when I get top surgery!  At least one good thing came from being horribly I'll, lol.

[lionheart]

My doctor said I could lift hands over my head 6 weeks post op. You should check with your doctor.

But if you must do button up, do you really frequent a gym where people are that judgey about street clothes? As a blue collar man, I've gone to the gym in work shirts (and the ubiquitous white undershirt) straight after work... I wear talcum powder to keep the odor down. It's okay as long as the shirt isn't too tight.

Well if I'm able to go to the gym before 6 weeks I intend to do that. My concern with wearing button ups at the gym isn't necessarily the judgement, but it just doesn't seem like it would be very comfortable.

[Austin Rodgers]

I haven't had top surgery yet, but I do know that you have to wait a little while before you are able to really get back into working out. Just make sure you really build up your pectoral muscles so they have some muscle to work with when contouring.

A week or so after surgery you could begin to do some walking and keep eating healthy and you won't lose as much muscle as you think.

I would definitely be sure to take it easy for the whole time though, lifting things over your head and really pushing yourself could cause your incisions to stretch. You can always get your muscle tone back.