Exercise before surgery?

[harmonylynn 47]

Hello all....I am just beginning my journey of getting approved for surgery. I am wondering if anyone started working out with weights prior to surgery? I am wondering if this would help me tone up some to prevent some of the loose skin as I would never be able to afford plastic surgery. Thank you all for all that you have shared so far!!

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[erp 2,016]

I dieted and exercised pre-op, lost about 12 lbs prior to surgery. I highly recommend strength training as part of whatever you do.

[harmonylynn 47]

Thank you

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[TheRealMeIsHere! 863]

It probably will have no effect on loose skin, it will however help with weight loss and toning.

[indyjeff 45]

I have worked out with weights off and on most of my teenage and adult life. I carry more muscle than many because of this and it skews my BMI significantly. However, I hadn't worked out seriously for at least 6 months before starting my 4-week pre-op diet...

Since starting the pre-op diet, I have been doing a full-body superset workout, 3-times per week (M/W/F), with cardio afterwards (1 hr. total time). On my off days, I'm pretty active trying to finish some remodeling projects before surgery, so I keep busy. If I didn't, I would likely do additional cardio on the off days.

I think working out with weights and the cardio have definitely helped with my pre-op weight loss and excess "bloat". I would highly recommend starting some form of exercise prior to your surgery. Weights are a great option that may keep you from losing as much muscle tissue during your weight loss. If you keep it up post-surgery, it will tone your body and help fill in portions of your body that used to be fat with lean muscle. This will at the very least, make it feel like you have less excess skin.

My two cents. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

[James Marusek 5,244]

For the year prior to surgery, I walked everyday for 30 minutes. It was actually hill walking because I walked up and down my steep driveway. This uses two different sets of muscles. This had two effects. It sped up my recovery significantly and it also reduced my pain levels after the operation. I used no pain meds after I left the recovery room. I didn't need them.

[baby girl pa 15]

Before and after

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[harmonylynn 47]

I have worked out with weights off and on most of my teenage and adult life. I carry more muscle than many because of this and it skews my BMI significantly. However, I hadn't worked out seriously for at least 6 months before starting my 4-week pre-op diet...

Since starting the pre-op diet, I have been doing a full-body superset workout, 3-times per week (M/W/F), with cardio afterwards (1 hr. total time). On my off days, I'm pretty active trying to finish some remodeling projects before surgery, so I keep busy. If I didn't, I would likely do additional cardio on the off days.

I think working out with weights and the cardio have definitely helped with my pre-op weight loss and excess "bloat". I would highly recommend starting some form of exercise prior to your surgery. Weights are a great option that may keep you from losing as much muscle tissue during your weight loss. If you keep it up post-surgery, it will tone your body and help fill in portions of your body that used to be fat with lean muscle. This will at the very least, make it feel like you have less excess skin.

My two cents. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

I really cant thank you enough for your experience and thoughts! Have you noticed that you do have less loosely skin? I am sure going into surgery you felt stronger and that probably helped with your recovery time too!

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[harmonylynn 47]

For the year prior to surgery, I walked everyday for 30 minutes. It was actually hill walking because I walked up and down my steep driveway. This uses two different sets of muscles. This had two effects. It sped up my recovery significantly and it also reduced my pain levels after the operation. I used no pain meds after I left the recovery room. I didn't need them.

Thank you so much for your insight! I am glad that you have had good results with your process!

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[OKCPirate 5,323]

As much as I could. You are going to lose muscle as well as fat the first month. Some put on as much as you can

[harmonylynn 47]

As much as I could. You are going to lose muscle as well as fat the first month. Some put on as much as you can

Thank you!! I want to be as strong as possible.

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[indyjeff 45]

I'm actually pre-op... My surgery is this coming Thursday, Oct. 20th. I'll check back in and let you know if I feel it helped with recovery, but I'm positive that any exercise you can do pre-op is only going to benefit you! Good luck!

I have worked out with weights off and on most of my teenage and adult life. I carry more muscle than many because of this and it skews my BMI significantly. However, I hadn't worked out seriously for at least 6 months before starting my 4-week pre-op diet...

Since starting the pre-op diet, I have been doing a full-body superset workout, 3-times per week (M/W/F), with cardio afterwards (1 hr. total time). On my off days, I'm pretty active trying to finish some remodeling projects before surgery, so I keep busy. If I didn't, I would likely do additional cardio on the off days.

I think working out with weights and the cardio have definitely helped with my pre-op weight loss and excess "bloat". I would highly recommend starting some form of exercise prior to your surgery. Weights are a great option that may keep you from losing as much muscle tissue during your weight loss. If you keep it up post-surgery, it will tone your body and help fill in portions of your body that used to be fat with lean muscle. This will at the very least, make it feel like you have less excess skin.

My two cents. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

I really cant thank you enough for your experience and thoughts! Have you noticed that you do have less loosely skin? I am sure going into surgery you felt stronger and that probably helped with your recovery time too!

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[harmonylynn 47]

Thank you that would be great to have your insight! Best of everything to you for surgery!

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[BuffaloBill 168]

I have worked out with weights off and on most of my teenage and adult life. I carry more muscle than many because of this and it skews my BMI significantly. However, I hadn't worked out seriously for at least 6 months before starting my 4-week pre-op diet...

Since starting the pre-op diet, I have been doing a full-body superset workout, 3-times per week (M/W/F), with cardio afterwards (1 hr. total time). On my off days, I'm pretty active trying to finish some remodeling projects before surgery, so I keep busy. If I didn't, I would likely do additional cardio on the off days.

I think working out with weights and the cardio have definitely helped with my pre-op weight loss and excess "bloat". I would highly recommend starting some form of exercise prior to your surgery. Weights are a great option that may keep you from losing as much muscle tissue during your weight loss. If you keep it up post-surgery, it will tone your body and help fill in portions of your body that used to be fat with lean muscle. This will at the very least, make it feel like you have less excess skin.

My two cents. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Im in the same boat have worked out my whole life . But i put on alot of weight thats why im getting surgery. Ive been doing strictly cardio at the gym. Should I start to hit the weights hard to lose ? I need to lose 14 lbs for surgery

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[indyjeff 45]

Bill,

I would, but that's me. I knew I would lose muscle during the recovery period from surgery.

I was lifting weights I could complete 10-12 reps of before failure... For me, it was more about reducing rest times and keeping my heart rate in the target zone (for me, 130-145 bpm), even during rest periods. This is hard to do with straight sets, so I do supersets. For instance, my first set was bench press, followed immediately by squats. I try to keep the total set time to about 2 min. This ends up giving me about 30 seconds rest each set. Larger muscle groups, I may end up resting more (1 min.); and with smaller muscle groups (triceps and biceps), I rest less--or more accurately, the total time for each set is less (maybe 1:30 min.).... I do 5 supersets, covering the whole body (3 or 4 sets each), which takes about 30 or 40 minutes total. After that, I did 20-30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill or elliptical.

I'm not expert, but here's what I did as a sample for Workout A (I also used a Workout B on alternate days):

Chest/Bench Press

Squats

Bent Rows

Hamstring Curls

Military Press

Calf Raises

Tricep Extensions

Bicep Curls

Crunches

Bent Laterals

Hope this helps!