Advice On Timing

I posted a while ago, but things have changed a bit and I could still really use some advice. Basically, at some point I need to have surgery on my ankle and that will require 6 weeks of complete immobilization (major atrophy!!!) and then probably at least 4-6 months of only light activity. I also am being forced to gain about 15 pounds right now. It is a long story why.

My question then is this: In order to keep my body fat percentage the lowest and to keep my legs as big as possible, should I gain all my weight first, before the surgery while I can still do moderate activity (medium weights with low reps and a bit of elliptical trainer) or should I just do the surgery now and gain 15 pounds while completely immobilized? I really want my legs to be bigger. They are super thin and it is hard for me to gain weight there. I am afraid that by gaining the weight while immobilized I will become unproportioned and be unable to make my legs bigger once I recover since by then I will no longer be gaining much weight.

Any advice or comments would be so appreciated!!

Thanks!

I assume that after the surgery you will still be able to work your upper body, eg T-bar rows, bench press etc.

Will it also be possible for you to do leg exercises that don’t involve the ankle? I am thinking that this might be one of the rare circumstances where leg curls and leg extensions are worth doing.

Even if you can’t use one leg, you can still work the other leg. This will help to minimize atrophy in the immobilized leg. Think split squats, one leg deadlifts. You can deal with any resulting imbalances later.