I have a surgery scheduled for the end of March. Nothing too major, however I will not be able to lift for 3 months!!! At least those are the initial instructions.

They want me walking asap (2 days after) and I can resume most 'regular' activities within two weeks.

What do you guys suggest I do for those three months. I'd hate to have all my progress go down the drain and have to start all over. I mean I'll do it, and on the positive side I can always use this as a (I'm having a blond moment) the opposite of bulking period (lol).

This is what I (still) look like-to my dismay-I had hoped to bulk up a little but I haven't really tried...

http://training.fitness.com/picture-...ics-15845.html

I know that I will have to check with my physician before doing anything but any suggestions would be great!

Well you are looking great to me. What kind of surgery are you having done?

(girl-type) Abdonimal surgery.

My fear is that I'll lose the muscle mass and end up looking skinny fat

I know that I can rebuild when able to but if I can do something to prevent losing too much (muscle) mass I'll do it...

Wow, three months is a long time! Don't really have any advice. I'm just surprised that you have to lay off weights for so long

~Nicole

Yeah, I thought it sounded like a long time too. It was on one of those generic forms they pass out for the porcedure. It literally says "no weight lifting" for three months in parenthesis...

Maybe once I've had it and start to recover they'll tell me otherwise. That's gonna be hard for me. To stay away from the gym for that long. I know they want me walking right away to prevent blood clots.

I'm gonna ask (after) if I can slowly incorporate a light work out like lunges and squats without weights for my legs and light weights for my arms.

I certainly don't want to hurt myself though. I've never been cut down to the muscle before so I don't know what to expect.

Bummer

Depends on the surgery. Three months may just be overkill. Often times it is 6 weeks, but it truly depends on which of the "girl-type" surgeries you are having. If there is a large abdominal incision it often takes a while to heal together properly, plus you don't want alot of adhesions (internal scar tissue) which can be made worse by resuming lifting to quickly. Your doctor may be willing to let you resume activity sooner if you are healing quickly. After my c-section it was at least 6 weeks before I dared to try anything, but my abs were also stretched to the max and your aren't lol. You look great right now, I am sure you will bounce back quickly.

He said my incision will resemble one of a c-section. Oh well. I'l wait and see what happens when it happens. Maybe I'm worrying too soon...

Thanks guys

You might try speaking with him about it. Sometimes, those handouts are just across the board to be safe (so some totaly overweight out of shape person doesn't take up a new wtlifting routine right after surgery).

When I was pregnant, the ob raised the amount of weight I was alllowed to lift a bit b/c my body was already accustomed to more than most women. Maybe your doc will take into account you individually, and your level of health/fitness, rather than sticking to an across the board rule. Couldn't hurt to ask.