6 Weeks Post-Op Abdominoplasty Update

Find my previous Abdominoplasty updates here

I DID IT! I made it 6 weeks. That is a huge milestone with an abdominoplasty. My doctor told me I could start working out again at 6 weeks, so you know what I did first thing Monday morning? I worked out! It was strange and amazing all at the same time. I started out slow with the warm up. Nothing really hurt but I could feel a lot of tightness right above my belly button. It actually felt more like tightness in my skin than in my muscles. I ended up skipping the pull up/ring dip EMOM. Pull ups and ring dips didn’t feel great so I opted out of them. I did do the WOD though. It was 21-15-9 of Front Squats and Push ups. The front squats didn’t feel bad at all. I stuck with 65lbs, which would have been nothing for me pre-surgery, and it turned out to be a pretty good weight. My legs weren’t sure they liked it, but everything else felt good. The push ups were interesting. I did super slow knee push ups and took frequent rest. Again, it didn’t hurt, but it was a different feeling for sure. More than anything I was just glad to be back at it, regardless of how slow it was.

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I finally got to wear my new HumanX Gear tank. I saved it for when I knew I would be able to actually lift something while wearing it! I love it.
(Pants are Fabletics and headband is Junk Brands)

Oh, I have 6 week pictures too!

I still have some noticeable swelling in the lower abdomen, that comes and goes depending on my activity level. This is first thing in the morning after sleeping in my compression garment. The swelling goes up significantly with activity. I was nervous about how bad the swelling would be at the end of the day after working out. My scar is amazing. I’m just using some Honest Company Belly Butter on it right now, but I’ll probably look into some scar cream here shortly.

This is morning (top) and evening (bottom) after my first day of working out. Obviously there is a noticeable difference with swelling, but nothing too far from normal every day swelling. I still wear my compression gear to sleep in and I wear tight compression pants when I workout.

I tried out back squats today. I felt good overall, it’s just frustrating knowing what you used to be able to do. I stuck with a light (for me) weight for my 6 sets of 2. My legs are trying to remember what heavy squatting was like.

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Shirt from Thick2Thin | Pants from Fabletics | Headband from Junk Brands | Belt from HumanX

Overall I feel back to normal from the surgery, I just know it will take a while to get my fitness level back to normal. My mind still remembers what I can do, my body is the one trying to remember. I’m going to continue to take it slow and listen to my body.

I feel like I’m finally getting my groove back. I know it’s still going to be a process, but i’ve embraced the process and am just riding it out. Swelling will continue to come and go. And I’m sure things will change and shift as I ease back into workouts. Overall I’m really happy I had the surgery and I would do it again in a heart beat.

Have you ever had to take a break from working out?
How did you get back into your groove?

Find my previous Abdominoplasty updates here