Exercising after surgery

[yorkiegal]

I'm thinking of joining my local gym in an effort to get fitter prior to surgery. I'm absolutely rubbish at motivating myself so I think it might help, especially if I'm forking out over £40 per month lol.

the gym does allow me to suspend my membership for 3 months in the event of serious illness, so I hope that surgery would be included in that.

How long is it after a bypass that you can start to exercise again though? Would I be able to do something like step classes where the impact isn't on my stomach muscles for example?

oh and does anyone have any experience of nuffield gyms? that's the one nearest to me.

 

[angie790]

I think typically most providers would recommend you wait at least for your 6 week check-up before commencing a serious exercise regime, and also much would depend on you level of mobility/activity before surgery. However, after being given the all clear, any/all exercise would be good, just start slowly, building up strength & stamina. Swimming is particularly good as it's low impact but helps build strength & improve cardiovascular fitness. Can't help with the Nuffield gym question, but any gym that does a good induction & has staff readily available to help & advise you on where to start & to offer advice with a training program sounds good xxx

 

[yorkiegal]

thanks angie. i just need to buy some exercise gear now and book my first appointment. can't wait.

 

[Fashionably Late]

My husband uses a Nuffield gym. He loves it. They have a health MOT screening and he got lots of great information.

I started back exercising at 6 weeks post op. I was advised I could start light swimming at 4 weeks post op.

 

[Stellap]

Although my surgeon said no exercise for 6 weeks he did say that I should do gentle walking from the get go so I went to the gym and did gentle walking on the treadmill. I then used to use the sauna and jacuzzi (great for getting my wind moving later on)! I think step does work your stomach muscles as mine always used to ache after so wouldn't attempt that until 6 weeks after.

 

[angie790]

The difficulty is with starting anything is knowing what you are doing, lol! I'm not an exercise guru but I know enough to worry about eating a decent calorie intake while exercising, especially now I'm post-op & struggle some days to get in what is considered a sensible amount....otherwise your body holds onto the fat & you end up losing muscle, which is baaaaaaaad! Why not go along to that Nuffiled gym before signing up & parting with your hard-earned cash, explain your situation & see what they can do for you? If they are willing to take the time for a good chat & to draw up a sensible regime for you, plus factor in post-op recovery, then I would say they are a good bet to spend your money on xxx

 

[RoseA]

I started swimming 6 weeks after surgery and started gym classes after 8 weeks. I got an exercise referral from my GP which is a weekly gym class (at a reduced rate) and a free swim included. Lots of areas do exercise referrals, why not find out if yours does ? It'll be much cheaper too.