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Visitors' Stories -- Angela (page 1 of 2) One of my principal concerns regarding breast augmentation was the fear of not being able to exercise normally afterwards. I was concerned for both the immediate effects (the weeks right after surgery) and the long term effects (6 months, etc.). Exercise is extremely important to me, physically, mentally and socially. I hardly miss a day. So as you can imagine, I was worried that I would gain lots of weight after surgery and experience a lot of stress from not being able to workout. I decided to write this to share with other workout fanatics that there is hope! I would like to reiterate that I have years of experience in the gym and am also a certified Aerobics Instructor. I add this to emphasize the point that I know my body very well, how it works, and what it is capable of doing. Therefore, I recommend that each person recover at their own pace and do what is appropriate for their body and their level of experience. Below is a summary of my exercise experience after my BA on June 9, 2003. Less than 5 weeks have passed since the surgery and the progress is quite encouraging! WEEK 1: For the first 2 days, I was able to do very little activity, but by the 3rd to 7th day I was taking walks. Each day I was able to walk a little further and a little faster. Of course, I was not swinging my arms around. I kept them in a static position. Also, I was able to do lunges and squats. If you know how to do them, and control your body well, lunges and squats should produce NO sensation in the upper body. I did them in my living room and really felt the results! WEEK 2: More walking, lunges and squats, and I began to work my waist by moving my ribcage side to side and, while holding my chest, twisting my torso side to side. After being immobile for a week or so, you can really feel results! The last day of week 2…I went to my gym! Yes, I explained to the doctor what I had already been doing for exercise and he told me that I could walk on the treadmill at the gym. Boy was I elated. My first day back I walked 20 minutes (varying up hill slow and level fast), and did 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer. If you are not familiar with the elliptical trainer, it is a machine that moves your feet in a pattern similar to skiing, however, in a bit more circular motion. I also spent 20 minutes on this machine. I did NOT use my arms. WEEK 3: By week 3 I was still tight in the chest but with increased flexibility and use of my arms. I continued the regime above; however, added the use of light weights for upper body. I was very careful not to perform upper body exercises that engaged my chest (or pectoral muscles). By this time I was also able to use my arms on the elliptical trainer. The highlight of this week was my participation in a Spinning class. As spinning (or indoor cycling to music) engages mainly the lower body, it is a great option for recovery. The movements that required some upper body engagement (like getting out of the saddle and climbing slowly) I performed with caution or no at all. I always work at my own pace and respond to any discomfort in my chest. WEEK 4: I felt great! I began to really try to stretch my chest muscles. NOT FUN, but necessary. I began to do sit-ups, which is not easy as it engaged much more of my chest than I had anticipated. It was important that I did not lift to high or fast. Short, controlled movements are very effective. I also reached a new milestone; I began to do the exercise. . . |
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