Training After Hernia Surgery

How long should I wait to get back in the gym? It’s been 3 1/2 weeks and the doc says be careful but won’t really give me a answer. If those of you that have been thru this could advise me I would sincerely appreciate it. It was laproscopic (spelling?) and I feel pretty good. The swelling has gone away and I have very little discomfort, not even enough to call it pain. Thanks in advance, I am really missing my workouts. Mike

Start light - really light - and work up until it feels wrong. Doc isn’t going to go out on a limb because he might be wrong and you might sue if you get hurt. All you can do is experiment and see when/if it hurts.

My doc had me wait six weeks before lifitng anything. Then when I did start lifting I did 2 really light weeks. I also waited on DL’s and Squats for several weeks afterward. It was annoying but having to have the surgery again would have been far more annoying.

DaCharmingAlbino and JoeGood; Thanks for the reply. I am annoyed to say the least. I like the idea of lifting until my body talks to me. I sure don’t want to repeat this disaster again…Mike

If you’re the type of lifter that has to go balls-to-the-wall, then I say wait even longer til you go back to the gym.

If you can handle going to the gym and lifting light and really taking it slow and easy, go ahead and start training again.

And when folks tell you to go light, they don’t mean what you consider light. They mean what arthritic grandmas consider light.

I had surgery for an inguinal hernia on Aug 10. I think my first day back to the gym resulted in a 95 lb. squat.

I had the mesh surgery in february (ingiunal hernia), and was told by the surgeon that after 4 weeks I could train as much as the pain would allow, which is very individual I know. I actually started with light upper body training after only two weeks, mostly seated machines and such, and didn’t experience any real discomfort from it.

Note, that I live in Denmark where we have quite extensive public health care, so the docs here wouldn’t be worried about lawsuits as they might be in the US.

downintucson; I had to read your post like 5 times…I just kept picturing the chick in your avatar with a mustache of beer froth. OMG, focus, man, focus… I think I lost two pounds of muscle mass due to my lack of it…Thanks for the advice

Mr.Melin; I am headed to the gym in a week and upper body machines/dumbells is exactly where I will start. Mine was the mesh repair also and I agree with working to “my” pain threshold…Thanks